Canary
by livclark007
Summary: "Monster is a relative term. To a canary, a cat is a monster. We're just used to being the cat." Owen x OFC. Begins five years before events of Jurassic World.
1. Chapter 1

_**2010.**_

It was hot, dry, and hadn't rained for weeks.

To Nell Kirkwood it was a beautiful day.

The wild animal reservation had experienced no hiccups in their daily procedures, which was always a good sign. Now it was the best time of the day, when she took her notebook and her dog and just observed.

"Home base, I'm heading out. Will most likely be staying central to the watering hole and following the elephants. Over." She radioed in to the "control station", if it could really be called that. It was the only room in the small shacks on the reserve that housed computers, a radio, and air conditioning.

"Alright, let us know if you need us. Over." Blake, the control room operator wired back.

Nell slapped on her safari hat. "Tuck!" she whistled, the Basenji trotting up to the worn Jeep and leaping in to his favorite spot in the passenger seat.

"We're going to go see the elephants today buddy!" she said excitedly, and Tuck crooned in response.

The ride to the reserve's large watering hole blasted hot air into her face but Nell and Tuck both hung their heads out of the car in the same excited manner, looking forward to their day.

Nell parked a ways from the watering hole. She could feel the Kenyan sun beat down on her back and a bead of sweat trickled down the center of her forehead. Mopping the bead with a cloth, she whistled at Tuck.

"Stay close boy." She tossed him a treat, which he swallowed whole and warbled in happiness, rubbing up against her legs. Pulling a few bales of dried grass out of her trunk, she trudged towards the epicenter of activity.

She could see the baby elephants in the shallow water, spraying mud on each other to keep their leathery skin cool in the dry heat. The mommas kept a close eye on them, standing around the watering hole. A few birds perched on the spines of the magnificent creatures, but they didn't mind. Nell took out her notebook, scrawling a few illegible notes before approaching the herd.

"Hello." Nell crooned carefully, approaching them carefully. They seemed to recognize her and let out a snort of some kind. She dropped the bales of grass and sliced the tie, letting it fall to the ground. The herd recognized the treat and began to lumber towards her, the mother elephants letting the calves eat first.

She sat in a relatively shady spot with Tuck, watching the elephants eat and play. The reserve couldn't afford trackers, they only tagged the animals that they were keeping an eye on, so it was very lucky that she was able to find the elephants quickly. It was a hot, dry day, however, and the massive animals usually favored the water.

After they had eaten, she got up to say hello closer in person.

"Hellllloooo Momma" She said to the biggest female, stroking her trunk gently. The elephant snorted in response and plopped her trunk on Nell's shoulder, causing the young woman to giggle.

Out of the corner of her eye she could see movement. Rhinos were in the distance, lumbering towards the watering hole.

"No fucking way." Nell whispered, and she raced to her bag to grab her camera. The Rhinoceros herd was much, much smaller than any other group of animals the reserve followed because they had been poached to near extinction. They hadn't been seen for weeks, even with relative monitoring of the watering hole.

"This is control. Nell, you have a visitor. A Simon Masrani. Over." The radio beeped.

"This is Nell. Masrani? As in Masrani Corporation? Why is the Jurassic Park guy here? Over."

"No idea, but he wants to talk to you. Over."

"Well, you'll have to bring him here or he'll have to wait. I just spotted the rhinos. I'm at the watering hole. Over."

"Ten-four. We'll bring him out. Over."

Nell stashed the radio back on her belt and lifted her camera to snap photos of the slowly arriving rhinoceros herd.

It was a small group, with three calves and maybe two mothers, more likely one mother and one recent adult.

They were almost the size of the elephants, but their armored skin and pointed horns made up for their slightly smaller size.

The babies lumbered over to the watering pool slowly, splashing in the water to cool down.

Nell stood back, clicking away at her camera and taking as many notes as she could one handedly.

The baby rhinos toddled up to the baby elephants that were on the other side of the watering hole and Nell immediately tensed.

Putting the camera back in her bag, she crouched down. Tuck, noticing something was wrong, came up and nuzzled her ear.

"Go back to the car boy." She whispered and he complied, racing back to the Jeep. He knew better than to stick around if it seemed like a dangerous fight with these animals.

The elephant and rhino babies played well together, but the second something seemed off the mommas could fight, and that would get dirty considering these were animals large enough and strong enough to have no real predator in the wild.

Suddenly, it seemed like one of the baby rhinos played a little too close to the baby elephants. The biggest elephant, the leader, reared back, fearing aggression towards her herd.

"Shit shit shit shit!" Nell watched horrified as the mother rhino responded to the aggression from the elephants, and the two mothers stamped the ground, looking at each other viciously. Her heart pounded and she froze.

Shaking herself out of it, hearing her heart pound in her ears, she pulled the radio out.

"Control I have a possible violent fight breaking out between the rhinos and the elephants. I need back up, over."

"We'll get to you as soon as we can Nell, over."

Nell scrambled back to her Jeep and grabbed her rifle, loading it up with drugged darts. As a second thought she also grabbed another bale of dried grass.

Moving quickly, she ran back to the watering hole. The massive animals were inching towards each other, stomping and scuffling. They began to circle each other, which was a bad sign.

She ran to the top of the watering hole and sliced the bales again.

"Hey!" She said to the other animals that were in the herd, "Come get a snack!" the calves separated themselves from the herd, excited for the food. She grabbed half of the bale, and caught the attention of the rhino babies, separating them from the elephants. The other adults who weren't fighting also moved away from their group to eat the grass. Nell backed up from the other animals so as not to frighten them.

Planting her leg on a rock she leaned down and took aim, firing two darts at each animal. Both the rhinoceros and the elephant wobbled a little, but didn't fall down. Two darts couldn't take down mammals that weighed more than an eighteen wheeler.

But it did slow them down. They were suddenly sluggish, and no longer in the mood to fight. Almost dizzily, the two turned from each other and separated to the other sides of the watering hole. After a few minutes of eating the grass and cooling off the rhinoceros herd began to leave the hole.

Nell could hear slow clapping behind her and she turned to see Iris, one of the reserve's managers, and a handsome, well dressed Indian man, who had been the one clapping.

Her hands loosened their hold on the rifle and slung it over her shoulder as she made her way to the two people.

"I've heard much about you, Doctor Kirkwood, but I must say it was a pleasure to see you in action."

Nell's eyebrows quirked up. "You saw that?" She gestured back to the watering hole casually. "Well, we're lucky they were distracted by the sleeping darts. There's no way to physically intervene with animals that big, your only hope is distraction."

The man nodded, his mouth settling into a smile. "Now why didn't the darts make them go to sleep?"

Nell laughed.

"Those animals weigh upwards of two tons. The fully grown elephants even more. It would take more than all the ketamine we have on hand to actually put them to sleep. It was just a distraction."

"You're very knowledgeable Doctor Kirkwood." Nell glanced at Iris, who shrugged back.

"Alright, I know you're Simon Masrani. Let's cut the bullshit – what are you doing here?"

Simon smiled. "I wanted to speak to you about possible employment opportunities." Nell shifted uncomfortably under his gaze.

"I'm pretty happy with my employment now, thanks."

"Ah, but Doctor Kirkwood, you haven't even heard me out yet." Nell examined him, his eye protected by sunglasses that made it almost impossible to read him. "At least let me tell you my offer." His words dripped with charm.

Nell sighed. Tuck crooned at her from the passenger seat of the Jeep. She walked over, putting the rifle in the trunk and tossing her dog a treat.

"Alright, but let's do this back at base. I need a drink and I think Tuck does too."

Simon nodded. "Of course. Is this your dog?" He walked up to Tuck, who stiffened.

"Offer him your hand to sniff. He doesn't like strangers." Simon offered Tuck his hand, and the basenji sniffed it before allowing the man to pet him.

"I'll take Mr. Masrani back to base." Iris said, putting her sunglasses on. Nell nodded, adjusting her hat.

 _What the hell does he have to say to me?  
_

It was in the mess hall that Nell met Mr. Masrani again. Iris told her to call her if needed, giving her a look that said not to mess things up with the important man.

Tuck was at her side, chewing on a bone while Nell nursed a beer from her horde of alcohol. It was limited out in the middle of nowhere when most supplies drops were to get them food. Mr. Masrani arrived, looking as crisp and clean as he did out in the grassland reserve, not a speck of dust on him.

 _How does he do it?_

"So, you mentioned you knew me, Doctor."

"Of course, everyone knows about the grand reopening of Jurassic Park. Just because I've been out in the middle of nowhere for almost five years doesn't mean I haven't heard anything."

Simon chuckled. "It's Jurassic _World_ , please. We try to avoid association with the failed incarnation, seeing as we have been operating well for five years now."

Nell nodded. "Yes of course."

He looked down at Tuck, grimacing. "Is he… eating a raw bone?" The basenji looked up from his bone, panting happily.

Nell snorted.

"Of course. What else could he get out here? Purina?"

"Yes. My apologies." They sat in silence for a moment.

"Why'd you come all the way out here to speak to me? You're a long ways from your park, Mr. Masrani." Nell asked, ripping the label off of her beer bottle.

"As I mentioned before, I have an employment opportunity for you," he said smoothly, taking of his sunglasses and looking her square in the eye. "I recently had to let my Herbivore Division Manager go as she proved that she could not manage in a crisis."

Nell raised an eyebrow, dubious. "Crisis?"

"Our Brachiosaurus herd got into a fight with each other and she failed to manage the situation. One of them ended up getting injured and has been in recovery for weeks now." He paused, folding his hands on the table. "These are million dollar assets, Doctor Kirkwood. We can't have any of them hurt so badly that they are out of commission."

"Not only that, but they're living beings too." Nell answered sarcastically at his use of the word "asset", but he ignored her.

"Of course." He paused to take a drink of water. "I wish to replace her with someone who knows how to handle animals in crisis. I've read about your previous work."

Nell stiffened, feeling her back tighten at his words. "And what did you think?" She gritted out. Tuck whined, noticing her stress.

"I think you handled yourself wisely, Nell – may I call you Nell?" He barreled through her even answering yes or no. "You were not dealt the best hand with the situation. And today, you proved yourself again to think on your feet. You understand animals, Nell. I want you to work for me."

"What if I want to stay here? What If I prefer animals that actually should be alive instead of walking proof of scientific madness?" Nell tilted her head, folding her arms across her body.

Mr. Masrani chuckled. "Of course," he leaned back, obviously still in control of the situation. "I can sweeten the pot for you."

Nell said nothing, only raising an eyebrow.

"This… reserve you love so much, is losing money, is it not?" He motioned around to the poorly taken care of tent, the dingy mess hall, all ear markers of low funds. "The government of Kenya doesn't want to give you money, and the United States doesn't care about this place with only one of its citizens working here." He smiled, baring his teeth in a way Nell recognized as sly. This man didn't become one of the richest men in the world by being nice.

"Yes, we are pretty low on money."

"I can help with that." He smiled. "If you come to work for me as Director of the Herbivore Division at Jurassic World, I will write a check for… oh, ten thousand? One hundred thousand? One million? Whatever you want. To this reserve to do with what they wish. It's all a drop in the bucket of Masrani Corporations."

Nell bounced her foot up and down, one hand on Tuck to keep him calm and another on her beer bottle.

 _One million dollars could pay for this reserve for a long time._

"You're willing to pay that much money to hire me?" She muttered in disbelief.

Masrani smiled, knowing he had hooked her. "Your work speaks for itself, Doctor Kirkwood. I especially loved your reports on the lionesses-"

"Let's be clear." Nell stopped him. "I will be working with herbivores only. I am not working with carnivores.

"Of course." Mr. Masrani complied. "You will be with mostly herbivores in person. We may ask you to consult on other types of dinosaur training and habitats, however…"

"Herbivores only." Nell gritted through her teeth. "no carnivores."

"Your dog is a carnivore." Masrani stated simply.

"My dog is not a dinosaur, Mr. Masrani."

Nell paused, looking again at her beer bottle.

"I will come work for you if you donate to the reserve, but I have stipulations. One," She held up a finger, "You pay and take care of my relocation."

"Of course – "

"I'm not done. Two, I am in the field at all times. This "Manager" position sounds awfully full of paperwork and I will not be behind a desk. Three, all my reports and research are my own, if I choose to publish it."

"We'll have to make sure you do not breach any forms of NDAs, but of course."

"And four," She held up a fourth finger, and glanced lovingly at Tuck who had gone back to gnawing on his bone. "I bring my dog. He gets to go everywhere with me."

Masrani nodded. "I'll make sure my right hand woman, Ms. Dearing, writes him into your insurance."

Nell smiled. "Then you have a deal." She shook hands with him.

"Can you start next month? That gives you time to get organized and relocate to Isla Nublar."

"Sure."

"Wonderful." He stood up, no longer needing her company as he had gotten what he wanted. "I'll write the check before I leave, and I must get going." Buttoning the front of his white linen suit jacket, he nodded at her.

"Welcome to the Jurassic World team, Doctor Kirkwood."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Thanks to everyone who favorited, followed, and reviewed! I hope you keep enjoying _Canary_. :) We get to Jurassic World in this chapter, so on with the show!

x

Not ten minutes after Mr. Masrani had left, Iris came over to her, weeping and holding a check for the one million he had promised.

"Thank you, thank you!" She held onto Nell, who smiled sadly as she informed her of the reason for the reserve receiving such a large check from Masrani Corporations.

She took three weeks to finish up her research and pack her small collection of belongings. Calling her mother, who was incredibly excited for her daughter's next step, was much less painful than she thought it would be.

The worst part was leaving the reserve that had been her home for five years. As she and Tuck boarded the small, rickety plane that was to fly her to Nairobi where she would then take many different flights and boats to get to the island, the entire crew saw her off. The twenty some mixture of researchers, environmentalists, and scientists waved to her as she pulled off into the sky, blinking away tears.

The second worst part was the travel to get to Jurassic World. Flying from Nairobi to San Jose, including layovers was almost a day in itself and with the time differences she had no clue how much time she had lost. She couldn't even have Tuck with her and thoughts of him in a cargo hold made her sick.

Once they were reunited in San Jose, Costa Rica, she was immediately whisked onto a ferry. Nell and Tuck found respite there in a small air conditioned compartment where they could nap for a few hours before they would reach Isla Nublar.

Feeling only marginally better from sleeping for the first time in at least twenty four hours, though she still felt as if she were covered in grime, she emerged into heat that was so humid it knocked her in the face.

"Whoa, we'll have to get used to this Tuck." She said, sweat immediately forming at her forehead and underarms. Slinging her carryon over her shoulder, she tossed Tuck a treat to keep him distracted from the _massive_ amounts of people that filled the ship and the island itself.

 _No wonder one million was just a drop in the bucket for Masrani._ Jurassic World was filled with tourists, a buzz filling the air from the thousands of excited people who all but raced towards the island.

Nell departed the boat, pulling her hat and sunglasses out of her knapsack and donning them.

Trying to see over the sea of people, which was almost impossible as she barely broke five foot two inches, she finally spotted a gorgeous dark haired woman dressed very stylishly, not a bead of sweat on her. More importantly, she held up a sign with "DR. ELEANOR KIRKWOOD" scrawled across.

"Hi, I'm Doctor Kirkwood." She stuck a hand out to the woman, who took it coolly.

"Zara Young. I'm Ms. Dearing's personal assistant." She replied in a crisp British accent. "I take it this is your dog?"

Nell laughed. "This is Tuck, yes."

"Do you have a leash for him?" She said coolly. Nell shrugged.

"Never had a need for one. Don't plan on needing one. He's incredibly well trained, you don't have to worry."

Zara nodded, her eyes obscured by giant sunglasses. "I'm sure." She said dryly. "I take it your trip went well?"

"Just fine, thanks. I'm glad I came early, that flight is not an easy one."

"Certainly." She turned on her heel, taking her to a beautiful Mercedes. "We'll head to meet Ms. Dearing now so that you can sign your paperwork."

She turned to Tuck, her lip curling up so slightly it was almost unnoticeable. "I trust he behaves well in a car?"

Nell rolled her eyes, pulling a towel from her knapsack. "He can sit on this, don't worry."

Zara nodded, relieved. "Wonderful."

x

They arrived at Control quickly, much quicker than the park's large, all-encompassing train would take. The air conditioning of the car had been a brilliant reprieve; Nell didn't even need to mop up her sweat as she practically panted in front of the car's fan.

"We'll need to take care of all your papers before we can get on with meeting Ms. Dearing and introducing you to your workspace, of course." Zara said as they transferred quickly from the car to the beautiful chrome building, the humidity barely seeming to affect the woman as Nell and Tuck followed her.

"Of course." Nell rolled her eyes as they entered an elevator, the doors closing quickly with a silent _whoosh._ Zara eyed Tuck and opened her mouth to say something–

"He comes with me wherever I go." Nell cut her off. "Mr. Masrani specifically told me that it would be possible."

"Yes, of course, your oral agreement with Mr. Masrani." Zara said, finally taking off her sunglasses to reveal more of her lovely pale face. "Ms. Dearing wasn't too happy about that, but at least you've shown up."

"I said I would." Nell muttered, Tuck sitting happily at her feet. The elevators opened with the same _whoosh_ , and Zara showed her ID to the security guard in front of the offices, all chrome and glass.

 _I'm beginning to notice a theme with the décor here_. Nell thought as they walked by, giving the guard a nod. She was lead to a small office where Zara dropped a file full of paperwork on the desk table.

"Please sign where highlighted. I'll be back with Ms. Dearing in a few minutes." She paused. "I also need a picture for your ID." Nell took a second to fix her hair and smile and Zara snapped a quick photo.

"Lovely." She stated, and before Nell had a chance to open her mouth she was out the door.

There was an insane amount of paperwork. Some forms she recognized from the reserve – basic insurance policies that made you responsible if one of the animals harmed you, etcetera. She checked over her health and life insurance papers to ensure that Tuck had been included, and he had.

Then there were Non-Disclosure Agreements, Confidentiality Agreements, a form that stated that her work was her own but the park had the right to review it before publishing, and a bunch of other forms that made her head hurt. She gaped at the form that had her salary on it – she hadn't even been thinking about that since Masrani dropped a check off at the reserve.

 _Eighty thousand! Shit. That could pay for the doctorate easily._

She signed them all, just in time to see Zara return with a tall, slim redhead that was dressed impeccably in a black pencil skirt, purple blouse, and matching pumps. Her pointed face and red hair immediately reminded her of Tuck, and she pushed down the giggle that threatened to emerge.

"I'm Claire Dearing." The woman said crisply, shaking her hand. "We are so happy to have you here, Doctor Kirkwood."

"It's good to be here," Nell said, her confidence wavering under the tall woman's gaze, she picked up the papers and tapped them together to make them even before offering them to Claire. Zara immediately took them from her and tucked them under her arm. "I uh, signed all the paperwork."

"Good," Claire replied, "It's nice to have official documents that you're working for us instead of Mr. Masrani's word."

"You guys really like your paperwork, don't you?" Nell joked, before quieting under Claire's cool gaze.

"We have people here who do not do their paperwork as expected, Doctor Kirkwood. I hope you won't be one of them." The redhead replied.

"Oh no, I promise I'll make sure to have it all done."

"Good to hear. Now," Claire turned and began walking quickly, Zara at her side, handing Nell her employee ID without a second word. Nell glanced at the ID – she looked sweaty and tired, but she had a feeling most people on this island would look that way.

Glancing up to see that they had moved on without her, Nell had to break into a slight jog to keep up with the two glamazons. "Would you rather go to your staff housing first or see where you'll be working?" Claire asked quickly.

"With all respect Ms. Dearing, I'd love to just go to my housing and stay there if that's alright with you." The red head stopped and looked at her. "I'm sorry, I just flew for like, a day, maybe two if you count the time difference and I would love to just sleep. I don't think I'll be able to remember much of anything you tell me, if I'm to be honest."

Ms. Dearing nodded, a small smile creeping at the corner of her mouth. "I don't mind honesty, Doctor Kirkwood. We'll take you to your housing and Zara will set up a time when I'm free tomorrow to take you to the herbivore enclosures.

Zara nodded, pulling out a slick PDA as they entered the elevator. "You have 2:30 to 4:45 free tomorrow Claire."

"Let's do that then."

 _That's the only time she has free? Wow._

As they exited Control the heat hit Nell in the face again. They went to a different Mercedes, this one even more tricked out than Zara's had been. Claire got in the driver's seat and Zara in the back.

Claire wrinkled her nose as she looked at Tuck. "Zara said you had a towel for him…?"

"Oh yes!" Nell stated, flustered. She pulled out the towel again and Tuck hopped in back next to Zara, who side eyed the basenji.

 _What is it with these two and not liking dogs?_ Nell thought, sliding into the passenger seat. Once she was buckled in, Claire took off, speeding through the roads like a madwoman. Nell clenched the door handle and looked in the mirror at Tuck, who didn't even notice the speed.

Both of the women were on their phones – Zara texting and Claire speaking. It was obvious that the Operations Manager was quite possibly the busiest woman at the park.

They pulled onto off roads, Nell hungrily eyeing up the lush greenery of the island. She hadn't seen stuff like this since she left for the reservation, and she forgot how much she missed color – brilliant greens and blues covered the island.

They entered the staff housing enclosure, a group of scattered bungalows that rung around a lake. Or was it the ocean?

Pulling up to one that looked newly refurbished, Nell got out of the car in amazement. It was small, but really quite lovely. A white Jeep with the Jurassic World logo stamped on the side sat in front of the house.

"It's not much, but with Ms. Goode leaving us, we had it redone for you so your fixtures are up to date. The crew should have dropped off your luggage. Here are the keys to both the bungalow and your car – it'll be the easiest way to get around the island." Claire said quickly, handing her a ring of keys that Nell quickly stuffed into her bag.

"No, it's perfect. So much more than anything I had at the reserve, or even in college." Nell laughed. "Thank you."

Tuck crooned in agreement, sitting at Claire's feet and panting up at her happily. She looked down uncomfortably at the small dog before reaching down to pat him awkwardly on the head.

"He likes you!" Nell grinned.

"I'm not really… a dog person." Claire said carefully, and Zara laughed.

"That's an understatement." The British woman muttered.

"You kind of look like him." Nell offered, but was immediately horrified at her statement as the two women looked at her sharply.

"I-I mean the hair color and your face is pointed kind of like his…" She stuttered off as Claire looked at her, an eyebrow quirking.

"I'm a dog person," Nell was flustered. "It's a huge compliment to me if you remind me of a dog…?" She tapered off, and Claire gave her a small smile and nodded.

"Well, thank you. I suppose." She cleared her throat, turning back to the bungalow. "Feel free to let Zara know if you need anything. We get supply deliveries, including food, delivered to the island every week. I'll need your report by end of business tomorrow. So make sure you have budgeted for what you'll need. Anything we deem to fall outside of needs through your insurance we'll just take out of your paycheck."

She smiled at Nell's shocked look. "Don't worry, that basically just means if you want alcohol or other luxury goods we'll charge you."

"Oh. Phew. I was worried for a second there."

"Make sure you also mark down what you need for…him."

"His name is Tuck." Nell grinned at Claire's obvious discomfort at her dog. Tuck crooned again, trotting back over to Nell's feet.

"Yes, Tuck. He's included in your food plan so just mark what you need for him for the week so we don't charge you."

"Great. Will do."

"Your ID will serve as payment if you wish to eat or shop onsite. Of course, you get an employee discount."

"Oh, awesome. Thanks."

Claire nodded, before offering her hand out to shake. "I'll see you tomorrow, Doctor Kirkwood. We have high hopes for you here at Jurassic World."

"Nice to meet you too…" Nell trailed off, shaking her hand. Zara gave her a quick nod, walking back to the car and sliding into the passenger seat, never once looking up from her cell phone. The two ladies drove off quickly, leaving Nell and Tuck alone.

"Ready for some sleep, boy?" She pulled her knapsack up to her shoulder as she climbed the few stairs to… wow, it was _her_ porch now. Her bungalow. She worked in Jurassic World.

This was surreal.

The porch was small but cute, large enough for a couple chairs and maybe a table. It faced towards the water, where right now the sun was still high in the sky but during sunset must really be magnificent.

The bungalow inside was small, with a small living space, complete with a couch and an office table where a thin laptop lay. The kitchen was cozy, with cool tiled floors and enough counter space to get the job done. Nell chuckled as she saw that part of the refurbishing was adding a doggy door next to the kitchen screen. The screen door led out to another exit out of the bungalow. It would be a nice place for a grill if Nell could remember how to even use one.

Through the kitchen was a tiny hallway that lead back to the bedroom, which was mostly taken up by the bed and the dresser. Her luggage lay on the bed, and she tossed it to the ground, not even thinking about unpacking until she showered and slept.

The bathroom had a shower and a tub and toilet, as well as a delightful pink tile throughout the whole room that must have been the doing of the previous tenant. Nell dropped her bag on the bedroom floor and splashed her face with cold water, immediately feeling better.

She trudged back into the bedroom, the exhaustion from the travel fully setting in. The, well, _her_ bedroom got a lot of natural light, but thankfully had heavy curtains to draw across the windows, blocking out the light completely. She closed the windows and drew the curtains immediately. Yawning, she set her air conditioning to a cool seventy two degrees before stripping herself of her clothes, throwing them so they just missed the hamper.

"Whatever. That's for future Nell." She grumbled, plugging her phone in and setting an alarm so that if she slept like the dead she could at least be up for her meeting with Claire Dearing.

"Time for bed boy." She muttered, sliding under the covers and sighing in pleasure as the cool sheets hit her skin.

Tuck crooned, getting up on the bed with her and curling up against her back. The pair fell asleep in a matter of moments, dead to the world.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thank you so much to the new follows and favorites! Special shoutout to x XRoweenaJAugustineX x and Rockyrose13 for your super sweet reviews. I'm glad y'all are liking Nell – she's got a ways to go but it'll be a fun journey.**

x

It was almost twenty four hours later that Nell's alarm went off and she jerked awake.

"Huh?" She grumbled, fumbling to turn off the alarm. Her mouth was almost sealed shut from how thirsty she was, and her eyes had the biggest sleepies she had ever seen, but she felt amazing.

Tuck trotted happily into the room.

"Did you go outside Tuck?" She asked, and he crooned in response, wagging his tail.

"I know, I don't have much to feed you. Let's see." She stumbled into the kitchen, thankful that her bungalow was surrounded by trees and empty water as she was still stark naked, and looked in the fridge. There were bottles of water, which she downed immediately and poured one into a bowl for Tuck. She would have to see if the tap water was safe to drink, she was sure Isla Nublar had its own filtration system, but living in the middle of nowhere, Africa for five years gave her some reservations.

She was happy to see that Ms. Dearing, or the old tenant, or whomever, had left her a couple basics. Frozen meat and veggies, eggs, milk. Her and Tuck could survive on this until the next food shipment came in. She threw a frozen chicken thigh into a bowl for Tuck, who happily began to lick at the meat.

Trudging back to the bathroom, Nell hopped into the shower, sighing in relief at the hot water cleansing her skin. She emerged, feeling like a new woman.

Remembering the awful humidity she quickly braided her wet hair and dressed for the weather. She threw a few clothes messily into the dresser and pulled out her toothbrush, brushing away her rancid morning breath.

Her phone rang from a number she didn't have programmed.

"Hffelo?" She quickly spit out the mouthful of toothpaste. "Hello?"

"Doctor Kirkwood. Claire Dearing." The redhead's familiar voice rang through the speaker. "Are you ready to meet at two thirty?"

"Yes of course," Nell replied, wiping her mouth on a towel. "Where do you want me to meet you?"

"Meet me at Control, I'll give you a quick lab tour and then we can see the employee facilities and your workspace."

"Sure!" Nell said brightly before she paused. "…How do I get there again?"

Claire chuckled. "Your Jeep should have a GPS with some preset destinations. You'll learn the layout of the island soon enough."

"Alright, I'll see you soon." Nell hung up, checking the clock on her watch. She had to change it for the time difference, cursing as she saw that she had to leave very soon if she was to meet Ms. Dearing on time, and she had the feeling that she wanted to be on time for this woman.

She grabbed her knapsack, praying there was a granola bar there and was rewarded with two. She pulled her hat and sunglasses on and checked on Tuck, who had finished his meal and was outside.

"Let's go Tuck!" She whistled, letting him into the passenger seat before climbing in the driver's side and turning the keys in the ignition.

"Where would you like to go DR. KIRKWOOD." The car's computer chirped at her, and she screamed.

"AH!"

"I do not have that location on file, DR. KIRKWOOD." It droned at her and she swallowed. Tuck whined, not liking the metallic voice of the computer.

"Show me how to get to Control." She stated clearly, and the computer whirred up, a map showing on the dashboard that she vaguely understood. Putting the car into drive, she pulled out onto the dirt road.

"Well, here goes nothing." She muttered.

x

Claire Dearing met her on the lobby floor of Control, located in the Samsung Innovation Center. Nell watched in delight as kids ran around watching videos, "digging" for dinosaur bones, and looked at holograms of the dinosaurs that Jurassic World housed.

"Thank you for being on time, Doctor Kirkwood." Claire said, giving her a slight head nod as they returned to the elevator that Nell had been in the previous day. "How are you feeling?"

"Please, call me Nell." The shorter woman said, but Claire only gave her another short nod, staring at her phone. "And I'm doing a lot better, thank you. I slept for almost twenty four hours!" She laughed, but was met with empty silence. "Ok." She said quietly, looking down at Tuck who wagged his tail at her.

"I'm glad to hear it." Claire said, exiting the elevator as it made that same _whoosh_ sound. They were on a different floor than the offices Nell had signed paperwork in yesterday. This floor was obviously home to the labs of Jurassic World, people bustling by in lab coats and holding reports.

"This is where our geneticists and researchers do their magic." Claire smirked as she saw Nell look around in awe.

"This is way more high tech than what I'm used to." Nell snorted, "it might as well be magic."

Claire toured her through the labs, introducing her to a handsome Asian man named Henry Wu, who was the lead geneticist of Jurassic World.

"We are so happy to have you here, Doctor Kirkwood." He said smoothly, shaking her hand.

"It's good to ah, be here sir." Nell said, not wanting to voice her opinions too much as something seemed off about the lead geneticist. Watching his interactions with Claire began to change Nell's mind about who really was in charge of the goings-on of Jurassic World.

"Nell!" An exuberant, accented voice was heard and Nell saw Simon Masrani rounding the corner. He was dressed impeccably once more, this time in a light blue tailored suit. Rather than shake her hand, he embraced her. "It's good to see you again, my dear. And your little dog too. I know Claire here was a little nervous that our agreement wouldn't work out." He jested his second-in-command, whose eyes tightened into slits as she smiled as fake as could be.

"Well, an oral agreement isn't the most-"

"The most reliable thing. I know my dear. Take good care of our doctor on the rest of her tour, I really must be off to my scuba lesson." He bowed good-naturedly before quickly leaving the building.

"Is he always so…?"

"Yes." Claire answered sharply. "Now, after we see the labs we'll go on ahead and meet the heads of the other behavior programs we have. Then we'll go see your workspace." She turned around and gave Nell a smirk. "Can you keep up?"

"Of course." Nell replied with a smile of her own.

x

She had gotten a quick introduction to the heads of all things research that happened in Jurassic World. She met Vienna and Jake, the two heads of the baby dinosaur program who kept an eye on all things developmental. Tyler looked after the aviary, and Scarlett was the independent researcher for the Mosasaurus, an enormous aquatic dinosaur that Nell had no interest in getting anywhere close to.

They were all very nice, and Nell looked forward to getting to know them.

"You'll get to know them well." Claire said as they returned to the car after visiting Scarlett at the Sea World-esque pool where the Mosasaurus lived and ate. "Every Wednesday morning the research leads and heads of departments have a meeting with myself and Doctor Wu. It's a great way for everyone to stay updated on each department's projects and for Doctor Wu and myself to keep an ear out everywhere in the park."

"Good to know," Nell replied. "Is there anywhere else we'll be going?"

Claire nodded firmly as she started up the engine. "The Raptor Pen."

x

The Raptor Pen was unlike the other research "Paddocks" Nell had visited on the island. It was in no way ready for tourists to watch the goings on, the way the baby dinosaurs and the Mosasaurus exhibit were. It was even further out in the island than the aviary. No tourist was meant to step near this "pen".

It was built incredibly high with maximum security – possibly because the raptors, as Nell remembered, could jump high and move fast. They needed as much security as possible.

A bridge was built over the complex for crossing over, and a few men were on it looking down in the pen and waiting for something to happen. One dark skinned man noticed Claire and climbed down, waving good-naturedly. He wore an open button down over a tee shirt and had a very friendly face.

"What are you doing here Claire?" He said, a slight French accent touching his words.

"Introducing our newest Herbivore Division Manager to the head staff." Claire nodded briskly. "This is Doctor Eleanor Kirkwood-"

"Please, call me Nell." Nell interrupted, offering a hand for the man to shake.

"I'm Barry." He smiled gently. "Second in command over the RAPTOR initiative. And who's this?" He said his last few words to Tuck, the Basenji deciding that he liked the Frenchman and sitting at his feet. Barry petted the dog lightly on the head and his tail beat the ground happily.

"That's Tuck." Nell grinned. "RAPTOR initiative? You guys are researching Velociraptors? Aren't they… dangerous?"

"Everything on this island is dangerous, Doctor Kirkwood." Claire said stiffly. "The RAPTOR initiative has made strides to ensure proper training and safety between the researchers and the raptors. I'm sure we've already reminded you that this isn't Jurassic _Park_." She spat out bitterly, tired of the horrible PR the previous incarnation had left her.

Nell nodded, noticing that it wasn't smart to question Claire Dearing's park in front of her.

"It really is as safe as can be when it comes to dealing with raptors." Barry interjected. "Our head of the program imprinted on them when they first hatched, and has been working endless hours with them to really socialize them."

"How old are they?" Nell asked.

"Almost six months. They're starting to get big. We're figuring that around a year we'll need to train from that bridge instead of face to face." Barry said, pointing to the metal bridge over the pen.

"Wait – you're training inside the pen?" Nell asked in disbelief. "Are they restrained?"

Barry grinned. "How about I just show you instead?" He walked over to the entrance to the pen, a small cage in itself that could serve as an extra holding should the raptors ever sneak out of the pen itself. Yanking open the door, he brought her a couple feet from the thick metal bars that separated them from some of the most vicious predators Nell could think of. Her heart pounded in fear and anticipation – she hadn't been this close to predators in a year.

"Stay back boy." She murmured to Tuck, holding a hand behind her. The dog stopped and sat at the entrance to the first gate, looking concerned as he watched his master.

She looked over the pen, seeing nothing but a few plants and trees.

"Alright, let's go girls!" A jubilant, cheerful voice shouted. A chorus of chatters and chirps answered the voice, and all of a sudden a man came into view, walking away from what looked like a holding cell for the raptors. He walked backwards, his front facing where the raptors followed.

 _Smart_. Nell thought bitterly. Her eyes widened as the four Velociraptors came into view.

They were something else. Still obviously babies, they came about waist high to the tall, imposing bear of a man.

But they were vicious. Though their actions were comfortable and passive, their bodies screamed "predator" to Nell. Slick, muscled legs and a mouth full of sharp teeth. They walked carefully, reminding Nell of a lioness stalking her prey.

She shuddered as the claws of the biggest one caught the light, the razor sharp point glinting in the beating sun. Her heart pounded, and she swallowed, flashes of equally sharp claws on paws the size of her face showing up in her mind.

Tuck whined, sensing her discomfort.

"It's okay boy." She whispered, looking back to the trainer. She reminded herself that this was not the middle of nowhere in the Kenyan desert, she wasn't by herself, and it was not her face to face with a predator. It was whoever that idiot was who was dangling rats in front of raptors.

"Alright. Blue, Delta, this way." The man said, clicking something in his hand – _Holy shit he was trying to clicker train dinosaurs._ He held up a hand, stopping two of the dinosaurs. "Echo, Charlie, you stay." He said, and walked sideways, the two biggest raptors following him. "Good girls." He crooned, tossing each of them a rat, which they devoured quickly, their beady eyes following his every move.

"Blue, Delta now you stay. Echo, Charlie, you go this way." He said to the other two, taking them away from their pack. The two chattered back at him, but followed willingly. He clicked, before tossing them more rats. They devoured the food even more desperately than the other two, perhaps because they had been waiting so long for their food.

Nell held her breath, waiting for the moment when the raptors would finish their food, realize they didn't need the human any more, and attack.

But they never did. After they devoured their snack the biggest one chattered at the man, stretching its head out.

"You want some love Blue?" He laughed, stroking the top of the dinosaur's head. Nell watched in astonishment as the other three stuck their heads out, butting the man's legs for attention.

"What the hell…?" She whispered. Barry laughed at her disbelief.

"It's amazing, isn't it?"

Nell scanned the four, noticing that one of the smaller ones, one with sandy yellow skin scattered with green and blue, appeared tenser, less relaxed than the other three. Its eyes were trained on the biggest one, a raptor with blue grey skin and a bright blue stripe running down its back.

Her trained eyes scanned the smaller raptor's form, seeing its legs tighten and tense, ready to pounce.

"GET OUT IT'S GOING TO ATTACK!" She shouted, running to the bars and grabbing them. The man looked back at her, surprised.

"What the name of-" He shouted back, before the smaller raptor screeched and pounced on the biggest raptor. The bigger one with the blue stripe tossed it off with ease and screeched in warning at the raptor, who backed up, its neck retreating into its body as it leaned back, away from the biggest one's massive jaws. The biggest one snapped at the smaller raptor in warning before the smaller one retreated.

"Echo, what the hell?" The man snapped at the raptor, who hunkered back further.

"It's fighting for dominance." Nell whispered.

"That's Echo. She's been giving us issues." Barry said warily.

"She's gonna give you issues until the biggest one puts her in her place." Nell replied. "I just hope it won't be too violent and that guy doesn't get caught in the crosshairs."

After he secured the raptors in their pen after Echo's discretion the head trainer emerged out of the pen. As he approached her, Barry, Claire, and Tuck, Nell got a chance to see that he really was a bear of a man. Sturdy and well built, he was tall and broad. His exposed forearms caked with dirt and extremely tight khakis didn't help Nell's swooning. _Jesus._

His head was quite nice too. A brass mop of hair and a matching beard framed a sweet, handsome face that was currently narrowing its eyes at her.

"You." He pointed, coming up to her quickly. Tuck was at her side in seconds, ears flat as he growled a warning at the man. "Who are you? And how did you know Echo was gonna attack Blue?"

"Doctor Nell Kirkwood." Nell stuck out her hand. "Pleased to meet you. You need to pay more attention in there. "Echo" was tense and stiff, unlike the rest of the pack. I've seen it in male lions fighting over a pride. She was ready to pounce the moment Blue took charge."

The man nodded and smiled, shaking her hand. "Good to know. Thanks for looking out for me. Owen Grady. Who's your guard dog? Is he here to protect you from the dinos?"

Nell raised an eyebrow. "His name is Tuck and he's smarter than that – probably actually smarter than you. He knows better than to get in the middle between me and a vicious predator. You, however…" She tilted her head as she stared down Owen Grady, laughter dancing in her eyes.

"He would take a chunk out of your leg if you had come at me aggressively. Wouldn't you boy?" Her last sentence was said in a baby voice to Tuck, who crooned in agreement. She handed the Basenji a treat.

"Doctor Kirkwood is our new Herbivore Division Manager." Claire said sharply.

"Ahh, so you'll be dealing with the veggies then?" Owen said. His voice had warmed up since joking with Nell, and it had a high tone to it that made everything he said sound sweet and charming.

Nell smiled. "That's right."

He cocked his head back to the holding pen for the raptors. "Do you wanna meet my girls?"

"Sure." Nell said tentatively. "Wait here Tuck." She said to the dog, who whined and curled up in the dirt.

She followed Owen and Barry while Claire, who refused and said Nell only had a few minutes because they had to move on to her workspace, stayed with Tuck.

The "girls" were held in a smaller holding pen. As they weren't fully grown, they didn't have a permanent installation for holding them yet, Owen explained. The four raptors were in four individual little cells, where they had just enough room to curl up and fall asleep.

"When they reach full size we'll probably have to restrain them." Owen said, a note of sadness to his voice. "They can't break through anything now, but they're expected to at least double in size by the time they reach a year."

"How do the vets get to them?" Nell asked. Owen shrugged. "We drug them a little and I stay with them. They're a lot calmer when I'm around."

Nell giggled. "Does that make you Mama Raptor?"

Owen laughed a big hearty laugh that warmed Nell's cheeks. "I guess it does." He took her to the first cell that had the biggest raptor, the one with the blue stripe running down her back. "Now as you may now that's Blue. She's the oldest and the biggest. She's also the Beta."

"Which makes you the Alpha, I'm sure." Nell said, shooting him a grin, which he returned.

"Damn straight." Nell got closer to the window and peered in, making eye contact with Blue. The raptor chattered warningly at her, much more aggressively than she did at Barry or Owen, which made Nell step back.

"This is Delta," Barry said smoothly, pointing towards the second biggest raptor, the one with a hunter green body and brown stripes. "She's Blue's second in command. Had the fight gotten bad, she would have jumped in."

"So the pack has accepted Blue as Beta?"

"…Not all as you could see." Owen muttered. "Echo is being difficult. I think she thinks she's stronger than she is." Nell looked in at the sandy brown raptor, whose pride was a little more than hurt from being tossed on her ass so quickly. She was hunkered back in the cell, not looking at anyone.

"This is Charlie," Owen finished, showing her the smallest raptor. "She's the baby." Charlie was small and brown with yellow stripes. She chirped gently as she looked at Nell, whose heart melted as she looked at the young raptor. _I always did have a soft spot for runts_. She thought, remembering when she picked Tuck because he was the runt of his litter and not expected to survive. When she had put so much work into Shiva, the lion cub who had been so itty bitty when she was born they had no idea she was going to grow up to be alpha female.

"Doctor Kirkwood?" she was interrupted in her fascination with the littlest raptor by Claire's cool, clipped voice. She had (unhappily) followed them into the raptor cells, grimacing as she avoided mud in her heels. The tall woman stared Nell down. "It's time to go. We still need to show you your workplace and I cannot push back my meeting further than 5:30."

"Oh, shit, yeah. Sorry." Nell said quickly. She turned to Barry and Owen and gave them a quick nod. "It was so nice to meet you both. I'm sure I'll see you around."

"Nice to meet you too Nell." Barry replied warmly. Owen didn't say anything, just looked at her with a strange squinty stare that she found both attractive and unsettling.

As she walked away, she heard his voice shout after her.

"Hey, you wanna get dinner with me?"

She turned around and looked at him as she walked backwards in pace with Claire. He stood outside the metal housing for the raptors, hands on his hips and a cocky grin on his face.

"Like a date?" She shouted back.

"Yeah, like a date!" He replied.

Nell grinned, tilting her head. "Sorry, no can do. Thanks anyways."

"We can pretend it's not a date." He yelled, eyes squinting in the bright sun.

"I can't do that." She laughed before turning around and walking out with Claire and Tuck, not noticing Owen Grady watching her leave.


	4. Chapter 4

The Herbivore Division of Jurassic Park was gorgeous. Since the relatively peaceful animals didn't need to be contained in the same way as the carnivores, their land stretched far into the center of Jurassic World. An electric pen surrounded certain areas, keeping certain species from interacting, but for the most part the dinosaurs were allowed to run free.

An observation station was in the Southwest corner of the division, close to the dirt roads that ran through the park. It was so much more high tech than anything Nell had worked at, even her university.

"I know you requested to spend most of your time in the field, but as you are the Manager you do have your own office for paperwork and other duties that might come up when you're not in the field." Claire said, giving her the key to a beautiful office at the end of the hall on the second floor.

Nell unlocked it to see a small metal office, much like the one where she had signed her paperwork in Control, but this one had walls made entirely of glass so that she could look out onto the never ending fields. The monorail that served as the transportation for the tourists scooped around the right side of the building, where it could drop off and pick people up from the Gyrosphere ride.

"You may sometimes find it more convenient to use the Monorail then drive between assets, as it can take you to the Triceratops and the Gallimimus Valley. But it all depends on your personal preference." Claire noted.

"This is amazing… thank you." Nell whispered. She would have to get Tuck a dog bed for the office.

"Of course." Claire said. "Let's meet your team."

They exited her office and went back downstairs, where the Division had their own on-site mini lab. A few computers were set up on a circle that filled the middle of the room, and the walks were lined with a few microscopes and other tools.

"For anything major you'll need to come to the genetics lab but for small things this can be WAY more convenient." A curvy woman in a lab coat said, coming up and smiling beautifully at Nell. "I'm Doctor Winnie Price, the head vet for the Herbivores."

"It's so nice to meet you. I'm Doctor Kirkwood, but please call me Nell." She replied, shaking her hand.

"What's your pup's name?" Winnie asked, bending down to say hello to Tuck.

"He's Tuck. He'll be hanging out here with me a lot probably." Nell smiled. Winnie laughed as Tuck gave her a lick on the face.

"He's very handsome."

"So does each Division have their own vet?" Nell asked, curious about the set up.

"Kind of. I'm here, there's one for the Aviary, and the others are sort of scattered. Most of us are just on call is case of emergency, but I split my time between here and the hospital because there's so many in our division it's easier to keep track of things this way." Winnie replied.

"Awesome. Well, great to have you on board." Nell said awkwardly, unsure of where to go next with the conversation. Winnie nodded cheerfully before passing them to the stairs that lead back up to the second floor. A few other employees gathered in the conference/lab room, and Nell began to get nervous at the fact that she was the boss of this place.

"This is Doctor Aries Le," Claire introduced a tall, slender Asian woman who shook Nell's hand. "She'll be your second in command here."

Nell beamed at the woman. "What's your specialty?"

"Paleobotany. I focus mostly on Megaflora and the eating patterns of Herbivores. You can either find me here, in the labs, or at the botanical gardens." She grinned, and Nell smiled back. It was refreshing to see so many women here, as dinosaurs, anthropology, and archaeology had for so long been seen as a Boy's Club.

"I can't wait to hear more about your research Doctor Le." Nell smiled. She was then introduced to Miles Poole, the lab tech for their building, who happened to be completing his own graduate work in genetics.

"We have a few others who are out at their particular posts. Pretty much everyone here has their own research project going on top of keeping the babies in good shape." Aries said.

Nell grinned. "Babies?"

Aries shrugged. "You begin to think of them as your children." She smiled at Tuck. "Who's this?"

"This is Tuck." Nell grinned, happy that most of her co-workers seemed to like her dog.

"Well it's so nice to meet you Mr. Tuck." Aries said, patting him on the head.

"Doctor Kirkwood, we need to get going." Claire said after hanging up on her phone call that had kept her occupied while Nell spoke with her new coworkers.

"Oh! Sorry, yes." She nodded to Claire. "It was so nice to meet you guys, I can't wait to start Monday. I'm sure I'll see you before then, however. Have a great rest of your day!" Nell grinned, waving goodbye to Miles and Aries, who waved back. She turned and once again found herself having to jog to catch up with Claire Dearing. God, that woman could move fast in heels.

"We'll head back to Control and I'll let you go." Claire said, her eyes briefly flashing to Nell as the three climbed back into the Mercedes. "What do you think of everything?" Nell could have sworn that for a moment Claire Dearing was _vulnerable_ , that she actually cared about her opinion of the park.

"It's wonderful Ms. Dearing. Really is. You have a beautiful park."

Something that hinted of pride flashed through Claire's face and she sat up a little straighter as she barreled down the road. Nell liked it. It made Claire Dearing seem human.

x

Nell returned home with Tuck in tow after Claire had dropped them off at Control. The two walked into the bungalow, Tuck immediately taking to the couch and falling asleep. Nell rolled her eyes at him. "Lazy."

She set on unpacking her few belongings. Clothes, some trinkets from her work. Her mom was going to send personal items down now that Nell had her own space to put them instead of having to share trailers with her coworkers.

It was about seven when Nell's stomach reminded her just how hungry she was.

"Shh." She said to it but it continued to gurgle. She hadn't eaten much besides expensive airport snacks and those granola bars. She decided to go inland to check out the dining that the park had to offer because there was no way she was cooking for herself when she still felt jetlagged.

She left Tuck on the couch as he was still sleeping, his paws twitching as if he was running.

The "Main Street" of Jurassic World was a tourist trap. Gift shops everywhere held all sorts of dinosaur themed materials and little kids ran around with dino backpacks, hats, anything that could be shaped into a dinosaur was and these kids had it. Major corporation brands dotted the streets and the skeleton of a Spinosaurus caused awe and rapture from small children but disinterest in teens and adults who had already experienced the magic of de-extinction.

She stepped into a Dino's Burger, its sign all tricked out with a little cartoon T-Rex taking a bite out of a burger. Nell sighed in relief as the air conditioning washed over her.

"Hello Miss, are you meeting someone or eating alone?" The hostess asked her.

"Uhh… bar seating will be just fine, thanks." She smiled shortly. The hostess nodded and showed her to the bar, where it was practically empty as most of the patrons were families who were seated in booths. Nell nodded and sat down, nodding to the bartender who came over to greet her. She scanned the menu before giving him a brief smile.

"Could I have the Brachio Burger please? Fries on the side and rare, thanks." She said and the man nodded before putting in her order.

"Hey! Doctor Dog Lady!" A cheerful, boyish voice said from behind her and she turned to see Owen Grady smiling broadly at her.

"Are you stalking me, Mr. Grady?" Nell laughed, smiling back at him. He cocked his head.

"Whaddya mean?"

"Well I turn you down for dinner and here you show up." Nell smirked, raising an eyebrow at him.

He made a face. "So it seems I did. We just must think alike, as this is my favorite place to get a burger and a shot of tequila after a long day." He sat next to her, straddling the bar seat.

"You like tequila?" Nell grinned, causing his smile to widen.

"You bet I do. Let's do a shot together." He motioned to the bartender. "Can I get a Rexy Burger, rare? Oh, and two shots of tequila please."

"Whoa whoa whoa. Don't go so fast champ."

Owen's face turned into a pucker. "You gave me the impression you liked it."

Nell shook her head. "Love it. But I've barely eaten all day and I don't think the first day we meet is the best time for you to see flat-on-her-ass drunk Nell. Could I have that shot in a margarita please?" She turned to the bartender. "No mixes. And a glass of water." She smiled sweetly at the bartender who grinned back.

"So a tequila man huh?" Nell turned to Owen, resting her hand on her chin to look at him. "Surprises me."

His eyebrows rose. "Really?"

"You look more like a 'rough and tumble, drinks whiskey and scotch' kinda guy." She raised an eyebrow, and he smirked at her. "Well you look like more of a gin girl."

Nell nodded. "Fair's fair. I am, tequila is just my first love."

At her statement the bartender set her margarita in front of her, and poured Owen's shot with a flourish.

"I'll drink to that." Owen said, and Nell clinked her margarita glass with his shot glass. "To…" Owen trailed off before his blue-grey eyes met Nell's own. "To new friends who like tequila." He smirked. He downed his shot, and Nell took a small sip of her drink, his eyes never leaving hers.

"So where's your puppy?" He asked after a brief moment.

"He's at home." Nell said, playing with the swizzle stick in her drink. "He's very tired after his long day of work." She grinned, extending the vowels playfully.

"Ah, to be a dog, man." Owen said happily, turning the shot glass upside down and sliding it to the edge of the bar. "They're so cool."

"Not as cool as your "girls", I'm sure." Nell smiled at the sweet look that came onto Owen's face at the mention of his raptors.

"Yeah they're great. They're my pack, you know?" He smiled.

"When did you start with their whole project?"

"I was brought on about a year ago to help oversee the finishing of the pen and the hatching of the eggs."

"And where were you before that?"

His eyes flashed something dark. "Navy." Was his brief answer.

 _Should have known_. Nell thought, scanning his body – the perfect shape, the posture, the ability to work under pressure – military training leant well to working with dinosaurs.

"How about you?" He asked as their burgers and fries were placed in front of them.

Nell sighed gratuitously at the smell of the cooked beef. "One sec I just need to have some of this." She said and Owen chuckled.

"I'd never be one to come between a lady and her food."

Nell shrugged. "Not really a lady, but sure." She turned to the burger and dipped it in mustard before taking a bite. She sighed again. "Mhm. That is what I'm talkin' about" She said, taking another bite.

"It's my favorite for a reason." Owen grinned through a mouthful of fries.

Nell got about halfway through her burger before she felt like she could stop and breathe.

"Okay, now I can drink this." She murmured, taking a bigger sip of her margarita.

Owen was looking at her, eyes wide and a shit-eating grin on his face. "You inhaled that!" He laughed, and Nell shrugged.

"Told ya. Haven't eaten much. I flew in from Kenya yesterday and I slept for most of the time between then and now."

He nodded, chewing a bite of his own burger. "What were you doing there?"

"Wildlife Reservation." Nell sighed as she remembered the reserve. "First place I had a job after I graduated with my doctorate. Did my thesis there and everything."

"That's pretty cool. What did you study?"

Nell stiffened. "Mostly general behavioral patterns of elephants, rhinos, anything we could find." She said after a moment.

Owen paused. "You said you did stuff with lions too, didn't you?"

Nell looked at her plate, pushing a French fry around. "Yeah, for my thesis, but that was most of it."

He nodded, his eyes dark as he searched over her face and then returned to his burger.

"Is that what you do with the raptors?" Nell continued, trying to play off her awkwardness.

"Yup." He said popping the 'p'. "General behavioral research. Nothing too special. Since the park has such a history with raptors they kind of just have me as a babysitter in a way, trying to see if I can train them." He grinned. "But I don't mind. How many people can say they get to play with raptors for a living?" He laughed, stuffing another mouthful of fries into his mouth.

Nell laughed as well, the simple presence of this effervescent man enough to put her in a good mood. He was like a golden retriever, happy and excited about everything.

"I gotta ask," Owen chuckled between mouthfuls of fries. "Aren't you worried about that catching when you're in the field?"

"What catching?" Nell asked curiously. Owen tapped his nose, referring to her nose ring.

"Ohh." She shrugged. "Let me tell you, if something's coming at my face that's sharp enough to catch in my nose ring I'd be a lot more worried about the rest of my face than my piercing getting pulled out."

"That's fair."

They ate in silence for a few more moments, facing each other in a slight stare down. Nell was beginning to realize that Owen Grady was a lot smarter than he let on. His storm cloud eyes caught on to almost everything around him while still managing to focus on her.

"So…" He continued, finishing his burger and wiping his face with a napkin. "Why didn't you want to go out with me?"

Nell coughed, as this was the question she had been dreading.

"Well it seems you got what you wished for, we're having dinner aren't we?" She joked, trying to change the subject.

"It's just I don't usually get turned down for a date." Nell was silent, staring at her margarita though she could feel Owen's gaze on her. "What did you mean you couldn't pretend it wasn't a date?"

Nell sighed and took another sip of her margarita for encouragement. "Listen, I just got to a new continent, started a brand new job after being in the same place for five years, and on my very first day of meeting my co-workers one of them asks me out on a date?" Nell shook her head.

"Spells trouble. The reserve that I worked at was maybe twenty people and we knew everything about each other – this park may be bigger, but I have a feeling the research team is just as gossipy. What else do you have to talk about when you all live and work together." She smiled ruefully, placing her glass down and finally looking at Owen. His eyes were once again unreadable as he stared at her in that strange, unnerving, squinty way.

"I said I couldn't pretend, because, to be quite honest champ, you're a pretty good looking dude and you seem cool. Going on a date when I'm just starting to get to know you could really mess with my head and I ain't about to do that." She tapped her temple, taking another pull of her drink.

The man seated next to her was silent for a moment at her blunt confession, and Nell was worried she had scared him off, which was the exact opposite of her goal with the speech. "Sorry 'bout that, I have a tendency to just sort of speak my mind and ramble about what's going on in my head or else I get all caught up in myself-"

She was cut off by Owen's face cracking into a broad smile. "Champ?" He asked, laughter tinting his voice. Nell flushed.

"You gotta problem with it?" She sputtered out gracelessly.

He shook his head. "Nah I kinda like it. And don't worry 'bout scaring me off, I like you speaking your mind. Makes it easier to know what's going on up there." Here he tapped his temple, subtly making fun of her.

He paused again, his grin widening. "And I can totally see you saying no now, my rugged good looks and charm _can_ mess with people's heads, Squirt."

Nell bristled. " _Squirt_?" She spat.

"Squirt and Champ. We make a good team." He chuckled, and she could feel her neck flushing with anger. "What am I, like a foot taller than you?"

"Excuse me, I'm five foot two and a half inches, thank you."

"And I'm six two."

"Yeah, so not a foot taller."

"Pretty damn close Squirt."

"Fine." She sniffed, knowing that it was her reaction that would make him keep calling her that. If she pretended to be nonplussed it would go away.

He looked surprised. "That's it?"

"Yeah, whatever." She chuckled at his "surprised" face – his eyebrows shooting up that way made him look almost like a kid again. She smirked as she finished her drink. Sucking the last drop of the margarita from the swizzle stick, she handed her employee ID over to the bartender to pay for her food. Owen did the same.

"I got your drink." He said casually as he handed his ID over. Nell rolled her eyes.

"It's not a date, you don't have to do that."

He shrugged. "I wanna."

"Oh. Thanks." She smiled as she got her ID and her receipt back, signing it and tipping before sliding off of her barstool. Owen followed her out and through the Main Street drag.

"It's so much quieter at night." She mused, looking over the slowly emptying street.

"Everyone's tucked back in their hotel." Owen noted. Nell nodded, pausing when they got to where her Jeep was parked in the lot.

For it not being a date, it sure as hell felt like one. "Well, this is me…" She trailed off awkwardly.

"You gonna be okay to drive?"

She snorted. "Please. One marg isn't going to do anything to me."

Owen chuckled. "Good to hear. Thanks for the not-a-date date, Nell."

"It was more you stalking me, but 'kay." She grinned, unsure if it was him or the drink that made her stomach feel warm. "Night Owen." She said as she opened her car door.

He nodded and swiveled, shoving his hands in his pockets as he walked away.

"Night Squirt."

"HEY!" She shouted as she stuck her head out the car window, hearing him laugh in the distance.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hi everyone. Sorry for taking so long with the update, I've been in the process of moving to Europe from the US the past three weeks and it's been an adventure to say the least. I'll try to be a little more frequent with updates now, especially since now we're diving into the good stuff! I hope you like it! xo**

x

Nell sipped her margarita, eyes surveying the crowd of Jurassic World employees.

It was Aries, her second in command's, birthday and most of the Herbivore Department as well as some others were out on a sort of "bar crawl" – if that's what you could call it since they were mostly just hanging out at the park's restaurants. Most of the restaurants in Jurassic World turned into bars at night, and Margaritaville was no exception.

The first month at Jurassic World had gone off without a hitch. Working with dinosaurs was even more fascinating, if that was possible, than with the elephants and rhinos. Seeing the magnificent creatures walk the earth was an experience like no other. And her coworkers… well they were really fun.

Winnie had come into her office earlier that day and convinced her to come out, and here she was.

Nell looked around for someone she knew and locked eyes with Barry, the guy from the raptor pen. She had seen him and Owen frequently at their employee meetings, and Barry was one of those affable guys who was just easy to be around. She waved him over, smiling brightly.

"Hello Nell," he greeted her warmly as he approached.

"Barry" She replied, smiling over her drink. "How are you?"

He nodded wearily. "I'm doing well. Glad to have something to distract from work."

Nell raised an eyebrow. "C'mon Barry. You can't bait a girl like that and then not tell me what's going on."

He paused, looking at her as if he was deciding whether to trust her or not. She smiled her best, most innocent smile.

He leaned, in his voice dropping to just over a whisper. "Things haven't been going too well between Owen and the raptors."

Nell's eye widened in surprise. "Poster boy Owen Grady?"

Barry nodded. "Echo's been giving us a lot of trouble lately. One of these days I think someone's going to be hurt and I really hope it isn't Owen."

Nell shook her head. "Is he still training them down in the pen?"

Barry nodding, his mouth formed in a white line from the pressure that he was putting on them.

"He's gotta stop doing that." Nell shook her head. Being in the pen with the raptors when they began to fight would only get Owen caught in the crossfire.

Barry looked at her, the sarcasm practically dripping from his face. "Do you want to be the one who tells Owen that?"

Nell laughed and clinked her glass to his own. "You're not wrong."

The party had begun to pick up, the restaurant and bar filling up with more Jurassic World employees. Aries broke out from the crowd, her hair and makeup still immaculate even though she had been dancing and drinking for at least two hours.

"Nell!" She cried, running up to her and grabbing her hand. "You MUST dance with me!"

"I'm not really drunk enough to dance." Nell said, trying to shrug away but Aries was insistent. She shook her head, gold earrings jangling as she eyed her boss.

"It's my birthday." She said, words only slightly beginning to slur. "Lessgo." And then she began to shout at Nell in Chinese, her mother tongue. She did that when she wanted something from her boss.

"Okay okay I'm coming!" Nell said, finishing her drink and taking Aries' hand. "You know how nervous it makes me when you shout at me."

She followed Aries easily as the birthday girl stood out in a matching ruby red top and pants combination. Something only Aries could pull off.

The music changed and everyone paused for a moment before cheering as "Wannabe" by the Spice Girls came on over the speaker. Everyone shouted along to the song and Nell could feel herself loosening up from both the drinks and the music.

She danced for god knows how long before deciding she needed another drink. Dancing through the group of people and up to the bar, as that was the only mode of transportation to get through a dancing crowd, she noticed a familiar brass mop of hair.

"Hey Champ." She said loudly, slapping Owen on the back. He looked up at her and grinned, his face a little more tired than usual.

"Squirt! How's it going?" He asked, turning to face her all the way. That was something Nell liked about Owen. Whenever he spoke to someone he focused all of his attention on them, even his body faced her completely.

She leaned up against the bar, smiling. "Doing pretty well. Need another drink. What did you get?" She asked, flagging down the bartender.

"My traditional warm up shot of tequila, of course." He grinned, and Nell nodded to the bartender. "One for me as well?" She asked, motioning to Owen. The bartender nodded and poured her a shot.

Their shot glasses clinked together as they downed the alcohol. Nell bit into her lime, noticing Owen watching her.

It was the first time he had seen her in non-work clothes. Whenever he saw her she was dressed practically for running around in the humid South American heat. Loose long sleeved shirts, loose khaki pants tucked into hiking boots, and her hair pulled back. No-nonsense adventuring, she called it.

Tonight was different. Her hair was down, curling in the humidity. The messiness seemed to not bother her and she was clad in skin tight jeans and a t shirt that showed the thinnest sliver of skin. She leaned up to the bar, completely comfortable in her surroundings as she grinned at him.

He swallowed, looking back at the empty shot glass which he put on the bar, leaving it right side up to show he wanted another one. The bartender complied and he downed it immediately, the burning of the liquor steaming in his throat and then his stomach.

"Whoa there!" Nell chuckled as he bit into the lime. "You alright?"

"I'm fine." Owen shrugged her off.

Nell stared at him for a moment in concern. His eyes were a little bloodshot and his under eye circles were much more pronounced than usual. She made a snap decision. "Let's get out of here."

He thought for a second before he turned to face her. "What do you have in mind?"

She shrugged, paying the bartender for her drinks and two beers to go. "Fresh air. Sitting around in a bar isn't any fun."

After Owen paid and they said goodbye to Aries, the two of them burst out into the warm night. The streets were even emptier than usual due to the late hour. They could hear the faint sounds of music from the bar filtering out, but other than that the only noise that was apparent was the sound of their breathing and footsteps on the ground.

The night was illuminated by the street lights on the "Main Street". Nell and Owen walked mostly in silence. Nell twisted off the cap of one of the beers and handed it to Owen, and he nodded in thanks.

"What's going on in that head of yours?" Nell said softly after they had walked away from the noise. After Main Street there was a path that lead towards the IMAX movie theatre, where patrons could see films about the goings on in Jurassic Park. It was closed now as it was a weeknight and past midnight. The pair sat on the steps as Nell watched Owen, carefully figuring out what she was going to say next.

She wasn't used to seeing the usually carefree, almost childlike man so down. As her question whirled around his head, she could almost see the cogs spinning in his head and the weight on his shoulders as the small line between his eyebrows furrowed even more.

Owen took a sip of his beer before looking at her.

"I don't know if I can control the girls anymore."

Nell blinked in surprise at the use of "the" instead of "my". That alone showed how out of control Owen felt. With him it was always, "my girls did this" or "my girls did that". Never "the girls".

"Whaddya mean?" Her voice was softer than she had meant it to be – after all, no one was around to hear them. But looking at Owen, at how sad he seemed made her want to sound gentle.

"Echo won't listen to me anymore. All she wants to do is fight with Blue. Blue's losing her power as beta as they grow, even Charlie and Delta won't listen to her. And because of that Blue won't pay attention to anything I say." He shook his head, rubbing the heel of his palm against his forehead as if trying to release some invisible pressure.

"Before, they would follow every command I said. They even wanted attention and contact with me. They were… they were perfect. Everything was going so perfectly."

"Hey," She put her hand on his shoulder. This time he didn't look at her, instead concentrating on peeling his beer label. "Sometimes these things are out of your control. They're dinosaurs Owen. No one expected you to have perfect control over them."

"But everything was going so well-" He protested, cutting himself off as he stared off sadly.

Nell chuckled. "People forget that just because we domesticate animals doesn't mean they're not still animals. Even dogs misbehave, much less dinosaurs."

Owen snorted. "Says the woman with the perfectly trained dog."

Nell smiled, glad to get something from him. "Hey," She gently bumped his should with hers. "Even Tuck misbehaves sometimes."

She placed her hands on the ground behind her and looked up at the stars that twinkled over Isla Nublar, humming in contentment.

"When dinosaurs first roamed the Earth, humankind was just a twinkle of a thought in the evolutionary future. We were never supposed to co-exist." She looked over at the man next to her, who had looked up from his beer bottle. His storm cloud eyes looked at her in a way that could only be described as thoughtful. Wow, his eyes were amazing. She had to look away to keep from staring at him.

"They're nearing eight months, aren't they? That's when they become lethal. _Your_ girls are just starting to realize their level on the food chain and seeing how much more powerful they really are. You just need to remind them that you're still the alpha and keep reinforcing that bond so they never forget it. You don't need to control them. You just need to love them."

He was silent for a few moments. Nell returned her eyes back the sky. In some way, though she didn't know if she did or not, she felt like she had at least gotten through to him. After a short pause she felt his large, calloused hand rest gently on top of hers.

"Thanks Nell."

x

She was beginning to get into a routine now. Get up early, go for a walk with Tuck, have breakfast watching the sun rise over the lake, and head to "Veggie HQ" as so many called it. She was often the first one there, though sometimes Winnie beat her – if she had to be at the hospital later in the day the vet would often start at the crack of dawn. Today was one of those days, Nell quickly saying hello before heading upstairs to her office.

She finished a couple last minute reports before sending them to Claire. She tried to keep her paperwork as punctual as possible as it kept the Operations Manager off of her back. Stretching her arms high over her head she whistled at Tuck, who quickly got up from his dog bed. It was time for the best part of the day.

"Hey Winnie," She called into the lab, startling the older doctor.

"Nell!" She giggled. "You scared me."

"Oh, sorry!" Maybe she was quieter than she thought she had been. "I'm going out into the field now, do you need anything from me?"

"No, I'm good." Winnie smiled a tense, thin lipped smile.

"Okay, well if I don't see you have a nice day!" Nell waved, slapping on her hat and sunglasses as she walked outside. The wave of heat hit her, but after a few months the humidity wasn't getting quite so bad. "Ready boy?" She asked Tuck, taking a swig of her water. He crooned, wagging his tail before he jumped into her Jeep. They often used the Monorail if they were checking on the attractions, but today they were going off road.

Heading towards the Gyrosphere attraction, she veered to the left instead of the right which took them to an off road path leading to the forest where the adult ankylosaurs lived.

"Hey Control, this is Veggie Boss," she said, turning on the Bluetooth headset that was required for all researchers going into the field.

"Hey Veggie Boss, how ya doing?" One of the intern's voices crackled over the headset. She couldn't remember his name for the life of her.

"Doing good, doing good. Hey, can you open security gate November Whiskey Three for me? I'll be there in juuuuuust a moment." What was his name?

"Yup, when I get the okay from the guards you'll be right in."

"Thanks! Hey, this is awful but what's your name again?"

"Lowery Cruthers, at your service. Don't worry I'll get this connection issue fixed to – the sound quality of these headsets is preeeeety sucky."

Nell laughed, waving to the guards as she pulled up to the gate. They had begun to recognize her and she didn't even need to flash her badge before she was given the okay and the gates split open just enough for her to drive through.

"Hey thanks, Lowery. I really appreciate it."

"No problem Veggie Boss. Just let me know if you need anything from us over here."

"Will do."

She turned down the volume of her headset as she went a little further in to the forest. Before long she came to where the ankylosaurs typically hung out, near the edge of the forest but also close to a river so that they could have water.

Tuck sat in front of the car, tail curled at his feet as he watched over his human. Nell grabbed her tranquilizer gun and stuffed it in her boot just in case and double checked that her knife was still strapped around her lower back.

Closing the car door she beamed at the group of dinosaurs. "Hey guys, long time no see! Sorry I haven't been around much we've been getting the Brachiosaurus section back up and running." Chattering about various things, she carefully inspected and looked over each ankylosaur. They were acting strangely today. Usually they roamed in groups but stayed a little separate from each other, giving some room to move and wander off on their own if they needed to be alone. Today they were clumped as close as their massive bodies could be, only letting Nell slide between them with large amounts of coaxing.

"What's going on with everyone…" Nell murmured, snapping pictures of the group as a whole to make sure she documented the strange occurrence. She moved in to touch Big Mama, so named because she was the oldest and biggest member off the group, but the ankylosaur snarled.

Suddenly the dinosaur turned and snapped at Nell. She ducked and rolled to move out of the way, racing behind a tree to avoid the clubbed tail. Thankfully, ankylosaurs were large and moved relatively slow so she was able to get away.

"JESUS!" She shrieked, running behind a different tree when Big Mama tried to headbutt the tree she was behind. She didn't have enough tranqs for this.

"Control this is Nell I need you to hit Big Mama with some dopamine RIGHT NOW." She hissed quickly into the Bluetooth.

"Got it. Distributing dopamine to Big Mama… now." A female voice crackled over the connection.

It hit the ankylosaur instantaneously, her movements becoming sluggish and she slumped to the ground, her eyes slowly closing.

The rest of the ankylosaurs calmed down when Big Mama did, but Nell still tread carefully.

"What was going on there Veggie Boss?" Control asked.

"I don't know." Nell crept carefully towards the dinosaur. "I'll let you know."

The dinosaur's massive frame was much more innocent in slumber than in waking. She checked her eyes, nose and mouth and didn't find anything until she checked the ears. In her right ear Big Mama had black discharge leaking out like sludge creeping out of a storm drain. Nell shuddered in disgust before she ran back to her Jeep to get a tube to collect a sample in.

She continued to look over the rest of Big Mama and when she reached the tail her heart dropped into her stomach.

"Oh my god." She must not have noticed it before because she was too busy running away, but the clubbed part of Big Mama's tail was rotted flesh. Not a single smell emitted from the tail, which was strange enough, but the rest of the tail and her body looked healthy. But the club… was rotted almost to the bone.

Nell swallowed, taking a picture and gently scraping at the flesh to collect another sample.

"Hey Control, this is Veggie Boss. I need a vet team out to the ankylosaur enclosure stat. Big Mama's got a big issue with her tail."

"Sending vet team to you now, Veggie Boss." Her Bluetooth buzzed, which meant they were pinging her exact location to the hospital.

It wasn't long before a team arrived, Doctor Everett deciding to fly Big Mama back to the hospital to try and attempt a reconstructive surgery.

Nell gave them her samples and explained what happened, but outside of that there was not much she could do. She returned to the Herbivore Department, feeling like she had lived a full day but it wasn't even ten o' clock.

"Hey is Winnie here?" She asked Aries, who looked up from her microscope, studying a sliver of a bright pink flower which, in actual size, was probably bigger than the woman herself.

"No…" Aries scrunched up her face. "She left for the hospital. Everything alright?" She noticed the worn look on her friend's face.

"Yeah." Nell sighed. "I'll be in my office for a bit." She would just have to make sure the hospital filled Winnie in on Big Mama if she hadn't been already. She trudged up to her office, Tuck right behind her.

The second she opened the door, she could sense something was off. Her heart leapt into her throat as she scanned the room, trying to discern what was going on that threw her off.

She closed the door quietly behind her and locked it, padding to her desk. She stared at the items that littered the surface, her eyes landing to her picture of herself and her parents on graduation day. Usually it was dead center in the desk so that she could see it easily but today it wasn't.

Logging onto her computer quickly, Nell checked the logs to see if anything had happened or anyone and messed with anything.

Everything was clean.

She desperately went into her password encoded research file to see if anything had been changed, if someone had looked at or messed with something. The entire folder had been recently copied.

Picking up her company phone, she quickly dialed Claire.

"Claire. You need to get over here now." She said softly.

"What's wrong?" Claire Dearing's voice was sharp as glass as she put on her business mode.

"Someone's broken into my computer and I'm pretty sure they stole all of my research."


	6. Chapter 6

Immediately after Nell had gotten off the phone with Claire she informed the department that she wasn't taking any meetings or calls and locked herself in her office until Claire Dearing arrived.

The redhead stalked into the office, followed by a husky man with dark, slightly grey hair whom Nell recognized as Vic Hoskins, the new head of security at Jurassic World.

"I need every detail of what just occurred. Now. Do not skip a single thing." Claire stated tersely, the paleness of her face indicating the seriousness of the situation.

Nell began pacing back and forth in front of the window in her office. "Okay well I came back in from the field and came up to my office and something was off, I could just tell." She looked at Claire's questioning face. "My office is set up very particularly, and since I'm barely in it nothing really gets moved around. But today stuff on my desk was in a different position."

Hoskins nodded, writing down everything she said. "Good eyes." He stated, and Nell nodded at him.

"Since it all seemed off, I checked my computer to make sure nothing was taken. My logs were clean, which made no sense because I did some reports early this morning and they don't get wiped until midnight. And my research file was copied."

Claire's eyebrows shot up into her bangs. "All of it?"

Nell nodded, her face pale and stressed. "All of it. Even the restricted information between department heads."

It wasn't necessarily the most top secret information, but the restricted folders were the information on just how exactly Jurassic World accomplished De-Extinction as well as plans for going forward.

"Damnit." Claire cursed. "If someone gets a hold of it our stocks will be devastated." She crossed her arms, tapping her heeled foot. "Do you have any idea who may have taken it?"

Nell shook her head. "No idea."

"We should check the security cameras." Hoskins said, standing up from his seat. "Was your research folder password encrypted?"

She blushed, nodding her head. "Yeah, the password's Tuck."

"Tuck?" Hoskins asked incredulously.

"The name of that dog." Claire said blandly, nodding to the pup that was sleeping in the corner. "Not the strongest password, Doctor Kirkwood."

Nell looked down at her shoes. "Yeah." She sighed.

"Well, it's kinda helpful." Hoskins sighed, writing down more on his notepad. "Means that it's more likely that someone who knows you did it, unless there's tampering on the computer. I'll have Control scan it to see what exactly went down. Change all of your passwords." He noted.

"Stronger ones this time." Claire added. She narrowed her eyes at the shorter woman. "And do not breathe a word of this to anyone."

"Of course." Nell said, her stomach feeling nauseous at what could happen to her job if they didn't find who was responsible.

x

"So no one tampered with your computer, but they definitely tampered with the video cameras." Lowery Cruthers stated later in Claire's beautiful office, where he, Nell, Claire, and Hoskins all sat.

"Why is an intern privy to this information?" Hoskins said sharply.

"Cause I'm in Control twenty four seven so there's no way I did it and also I'm the best one with the computer system here?" Lowery shrugged, his voice getting comically higher from the slightly imposing Hoskins scaring him.

"So someone tampered with the cameras?" Nell cut in.

Lowery nodded. He queued up a video from the security cameras. "The one in your office has a skip right around nine thirty AM." He said, pressing play. Sure enough, right around nine thirty there was a skip straight to nine thirty five.

"So we have no way of knowing who did it." Nell said disappointedly.

"Not exactly." He pressed play on another video. This was the security camera for the door to the Herbivore Department. "No skips on this video." He stated.

"The person who did this must not seem out of the ordinary in the Herbivore Department." Claire finished for him, her face set in stone.

Nell shook her head. "No way. I trust my department – they wouldn't have done this."

"Think about it Nell." Lowery said slowly. "They knew your password and didn't feel the need to tamper with the outside camera, so they must know you and they must work in the Herbivore Department."

Nell put her head in her hands. "Alright." She sighed. "Well everyone is in today so that doesn't really narrow it down. I have ten full time employees and four interns, so that makes fourteen suspects."

"Focus on the interns." Hoskins said brusquely. "They have a lot less to lose if they're found out, so it's much more likely that they could be paid off or trying to do something malicious."

Claire nodded, agreeing. "We're not going to do a formal investigation because we don't want to spook whoever got the information into selling it right away. Hopefully if we can do this quickly and quietly we can find them before they sell."

"Did you dust for fingerprints?" Nell asked hopefully.

"No, we didn't princess." Hoskins said sarcastically. "It's clean or we wouldn't even been having this conversation." Nell frowned at his tone. So much for trying to help.

"Just keep an eye out on each one of your employees." Claire said in an uncharacteristically gentle tone. "Any strange behaviors, anything subject to suspicion. We need to know everything that happens. Nothing can go unreported."

Nell nodded. "Understood." Her heart was heavy with the betrayal of one of the people she worked with.

x

Nell walked into the on-site hospital hoping to see Big Mama happy and healthy again. She knocked on the door to Doctor Everett's office, poking her head in.

"Hi," She said, smiling at the veterinarian. He smiled broadly at her.

"Nell! How are you doing?"

"Alright, thanks. I wanted to check in on Big Mama. Did the reconstructive surgery go well yesterday?"

He nodded tersely. "She did fine; she should be ready to return to the rest of the herd in a few days. Her tail was pretty roughed up."

"Do you have any idea what happened to her?" At her words the doctor's face became stony. He ushered her further into the room and closed his office door.

"Nell," He whispered, and she could feel her stomach drop at the way he spoke. How badly could these past two days go?

"When we got the test results from the flesh you got from her tail and the discharge from her ears, well. The discharge wasn't bile or blood or what you would think. It was pure sludge. That's why her tail didn't smell. It was all chemical decay."

"Chemical?" Nell repeated. "Could that be because of the nature of the dinosaurs themselves?"

"You'd think so, but any decay or disease we find is usually natural. This decay was from poison."

"Someone is _poisoning_ the dinosaurs?"

"It's the only explanation. That kind of decay I've only seen happen in acid ingestion."

"Ok." Nell nodded firmly. "Don't send Big Mama back out if you can help it. I'm going to restrict contact with the roaming herbivores to only doctors. Let's send a team out there to check and make sure this isn't happening to any of the other herds. If you could do me the biggest favor and personally supervise all of the teams I would really appreciate it."

Doctor Everett nodded. "Of course."

"And as much discretion as possible. I'll inform Claire."

He looked relieved. No one wanted to be the bearer of bad news to Claire Dearing. "Oh thank God."

Nell dialed her company phone to Control.

"Control this is Veggie Mama. All access to the roaming herbivores is now restricted to me and the veterinary teams. Let no one else in."

"Got it Veggie Mama. I'll inform the higher ups – I assume you'll be filing a report as to why?"

"Of course." Nell said wearily, rubbing her eyes. She was getting really tired of all this paperwork.

"I need a drink." She muttered to herself as she hung up the phone.

x

After deciding that she wasn't in the mood to sit in her bungalow alone and get drunk with her dog, Nell called up Scarlett – the researcher for the Mosasaurus. Scarlett's name was very true to her looks – her skin was a dark and creamy color, but her hair was a shock of copper red coils that she only managed to somewhat tame for work.

Tonight, however, her curls were left wild and so they were her major defining characteristic which allowed Nell to find her in one of the slightly more "upscale" restaurants that Jurassic World had to offer. Food was priced outrageously, but the liquor was good and not too expensive, which was all that mattered.

"Oh thank God you could meet me." Nell sighed, sliding into the chair across from her friend. She felt a pang of sadness because normally Aries would be invited to their little meetups, but she didn't know if she could act properly around her friend and coworker whilst knowing that she may have been the one to hack her computer.

"Bad day?" Scarlett chuckled.

Nell shook her head. "Let's just say I've been ready for a drink since ten AM."

Scarlett whistled. "Damn. Let's get you a G and T then." The three girls had originally bonded over their mutual love of gin and tonics, a drink that people either loved or hated. She waved the waiter over and promptly ordered two, and Nell smiled in relief.

"How's Mosie?" She said, referring to the enormous dinosaur Scarlett looked after. Scarlett's eyes lit up.

"He's amazing. With the grant I just got, I think I'm going to try to change how his feedings go. Make him work for it. His nature is to hunt and I don't really like that all we do is drop him a steer every couple hours for people to stare at."

This was why she liked Scarlett. "This is why I like you." Nell smiled, leaning back in her chair as their drinks were delivered. She took a long sip, sighing in happiness at the crisp taste. "You get it. Dinosaurs don't want to be fed. They need to hunt."

Scarlett smiled, taking a sip of her own gin and tonic. "I know. I just hope Wu and Dearing go along with it."

"Well if you don't get far with them go to Masrani. He's pretty reasonable."

Scarlett snorted. "Oh you know they only listen to him when they want to. They're the ones who run this park when it comes down to it."

Nell shifted uncomfortably, realizing that Scarlett was right.

Scarlett raised an eyebrow. "Speak of the devil," and nodded to behind Nell. She turned to see Claire Dearing appear in the entrance to the restaurant, looking drop dead gorgeous in a sky blue dress that fit her like a glove and silver heels.

"Damn." Nell whistled. "Why's she so dressed up?"

"Dunno, she's always dressed up. She's always got meetings with big investors." Scarlett shrugged, taking another sip. "Honestly I wouldn't want her job no matter how fancy it is."

Nell scrunched up her nose. "Me neither."

The Operations Director was seated directly in Nell's line of sight. She caught eyes with the woman and gave her a small smile, and received a stiff nod in return.

For the next few minutes Claire kept checking and double checking her watch, and Nell felt bad for her. Maybe she was being stood up.

"Wonder who she's waitin' for." Nell said.

She glanced back to Scarlett, who was staring wide eyed at the door.

"No fuckin' way." The redhead whispered. Nell raised her eyebrows in surprise only for Scarlett to nod her chin to the door. Nell turned around discreetly to see none other than Owen Grady standing at the entrance, wearing a skin tight black tee and a pair of cargo shorts and flip flops, his typical off-work outfit.

She swallowed and turned around. "Please don't tell me he's…" She trailed off as she saw him walk over to the table where Claire was and sit down.

"Holy shit." Scarlett said, trying to keep her giggles under control. "Owen Grady and Ice Queen Claire Dearing? On a date?"

"She's not an Ice Queen." Nell said tersely. "She's just the busiest person in the park and doesn't have time for bullshit."

Scarlett nodded. "I guess. But still, her and Owen? That's like water and oil."

"I know." Nell murmured, trying not to stare at the two. All of a sudden she felt much less confident in her dirty boots and hair whilst Claire sat over there looking like she stepped out of a magazine. She took a much larger sip of her drink this time, swallowing almost half of the cocktail. She was suddenly restless, wanting to look anywhere but the table where Owen and Claire sat but not being able to look away.

Her only saving grace was that Claire looked very unhappy at Owen's choice of clothing. It did look out of place in the nice restaurant but what could you expect from the man? She pushed all the thoughts of self-consciousness out of her head and threw herself into the conversation with Scarlett, trying not to pay attention to the two in her eyesight. Thankfully Owen was seated with his back to her so he didn't see how much she stared at him.

"…Earth to Nell?" Scarlett said, waving her hand in front of her face.

"Sorry?" Nell said.

"I said did you want another?" Scarlett motioned towards the waiter who stood there waiting patiently for her answer.

"Oh, uh, yeah." Nell said, looking to see him whisk away the empty glass of her third cocktail of the hour.

"I'm cutting you off after this." Scarlett said, eyeing her colleague. "I know you can drink but you haven't had anything to eat."

"Yeah yeah." Nell slurred, waving off Scarlett. "I'm fine."

Her friend rolled her eyes. "Sure. Whatever you say."

Nell continued to barely participate in the conversation, angrily taking a swig from her drink every time Claire smiled, or every time Owen's shoulder's shook with that full bodied laugh of his. It wasn't long until, much to her chagrin, she was really drunk.

It was when the two stood up, Owen placing his hand on the small of Claire's back, that he finally caught sight of her.

Nell tried to keep her face as stony as possible when she looked away, and even in her drunkenness she clocked a guilty look crossing Owen's face.

"I gotta go." She murmured to Scarlett and stood up quickly, wobbling slightly from the rush of alcohol that hit her.

She walked as fast as she could out of the restaurant, trying to figure out how she could get home since she was in no state to drive.

"Nell!" She heard Owen call after her but she kept moving. She didn't stop until he blocked her movement. She tried to side step him but he grabbed her shoulders. "What's going on Squirt?" He asked, searching her face. "You gotta little drunk there, huh?" He chuckled.

"I'm fine." She slurred, rolling her shoulders out of his grasp. "I'm fine." She repeated. She walked away from him but he grabbed her arm gently.

"You sure you're okay?" She looked at him angrily which startled him. All Nell could think of when she looked at him was his hand on the small of Claire's back. And it pissed her off.

"Don' touch me." She snapped, wrenching her arm out of his grip.

She stared at him, at his fucking storm cloud eyes and her irrational, drunken brain rattled around her head. His sweet face looked like a puppy dog that had been kicked, not understanding her actions. She didn't quite understand them either.

"Just. Just leave me alone." She muttered, looking at her boots.

"What?"

"Leave me alone." Nell said, louder this time.

Owen's face turned stony as he looked at her.

"Fine." He snapped and stomped away from her, back to the restaurant. Nell sighed, hiccupping slightly.

Well, she had gotten her wish. She was alone.


	7. Chapter 7

"Oh god." Nell muttered, pressing the heels of her palms to her forehead. After Owen had stomped away from her last night, Scarlett had taken her home, where she proceeded to angrily drink an entire bottle of wine, simmering like a steaming pot over the knowledge that Owen and Claire were probably knocking boots while she drank alone with her dog.

Tuck whined at her from his bed in her office. She had no idea how she was able to get herself up and to work this morning. Maybe she had been still a little drunk. Now, she reveled in the awfulness of her hangover.

"I know boy," she murmured, putting her head on her desk. "I'm disappointed in myself too." The pup crooned in agreement, laying his head over his paws and looking at her.

"Gooood MORNING! How're you sunshine?" Aries chirped, pushing through her office door with two mugs of coffee in her hands.

"I don't wanna talk about it." Nell muttered, gratefully taking a sip of the proffered coffee. The Asian woman pursed her lips, staring down at her boss.

"Hmm," Aries muttered, falling down into the chair opposite Nell's desk.

"Don't you "hmm" me, Aries. I know your games." Nell grumbled.

"I'm just "hmm"ing cause you usually don't get hangovers." She said matter-of-factly.

"Well I don't usually get hangovers 'cause I usually don't make an ass of myself." Nell whined.

"Rough night huh?"

"I don't wanna talk about it." She repeated her earlier words.

A soft tapping came at the door. "Come in." Nell muttered, breathing in the revitalizing fumes of her coffee. One of the interns, John, poked his head in.

"Hey Dr. Kirkwood, I was wondering if you could sign a few of these papers." Nell nodded, waving him forward. John seemed pretty nice, if forgettable. He was your average, well… John Doe. He shuffled awkwardly as he watched her sign the documents, eyes flitting about her office as well.

Nell rubbed her forehead, her eyes feeling heavy as she looked over the simple paperwork for John to get this internship for class credit. He, like many of the interns here, was a graduate student doing their own research at the park. Much like Nell had once been, so she always tried to take it light on the interns. Anyone else acting so weird around her office she would snap at because of her hangover but with him she shrugged it off to nerves. She could remember whenever she had to speak to the couple that owned the reservation she felt nervous and trashy. They were British socialites and she was just some kid from the Texan desert.

"Alrighty, here you go John." She said, mustering up some cheer as she handed over the documents. He looked relieved and scurried out of her office as quickly as he had come in.

"He's a weirdo." Aries affirmed, staring after the boy.

"Oh he's fine." Nell waved a hand at her, logging onto her computer. "Don't be so hard on the interns."

"Don't be so soft." Aries clucked before exiting the office.

x

It had been a week since Nell had drunkenly snapped at Owen and she had barely seen him except for the weekly meeting, and that was awkward as hell. She didn't blame him, she had acted like a petulant child. It just seemed that lately whenever she looked at the handsome, friendly man her brain got a little fuzzy. And seeing him with Claire well… still thinking about it made her bristle. She was beginning to see maybe she had gotten more attached to the man then she thought.

So, one day during her lunch break she figured she would do something about it.

Those thoughts brought her where she was at that moment – in her Jeep in front of the Raptor Pen. Tapping nervously on the wheel, she flipped down the driver mirror, feeling oddly self-conscious, something that didn't happen often with her. "Dammit." She muttered to herself. "I'm rusty."

In truth, she hadn't had much time for relationships since she left to complete the last two years of her doctorate on the reserve. She had dated frequently in college but had really never had much interest in dating someone she worked with. But Owen was… different. There was a magnetism to the man that she couldn't help but be drawn to.

"FUCK." She muttered again, gripping the steering wheel. Taking a deep breath she exited her car.

"Nell!" Barry said surprised to see her as he exited one of the sheds, carrying a slop bucket that held a few rats for the raptors. "What are you doing here?"

"Hey Barry," she smiled, frowning when she saw that it was just him there. "Where's Owen?"

"He's with Mr. Masrani and Claire, updating them on our progress." Barry chuckled humorlessly.

"And what is the progress?" Nell muttered, following him towards the pen. She kept an eye out for the velociraptors, however, as she still was not comfortable around them.

Barry rolled his eyes. "They want us to have the raptors ready for public visitation last I heard."

"But-" At this Nell's eyes widened. "Seriously?" Barry nodded, his lips pressed thin. She swore, shaking her head. "I can't tell if their heads are in the clouds or up their asses."

This time when he chuckled it sounded real.

"But yeah, I'm about to feed the girls, if you want to join." He continued, giving her a smile.

She felt her whole body stiffen. "In there or…" She trailed off, motioning towards the pen.

"Oh, no" Barry laughed. "Owen's the only one brave enough to do that in the cage with them." He pointed to the metal bridge that spanned the width of the pen. "I'll be up there."

"Ok…ay." She said slowly, figuring that she might as well try it.

The two climbed up to the bridge, and as Barry made a hand motion, Nell heard the loud beep that signaled the release of the raptors. The four moved quickly, shooting out like bullets. The girls gathered under the bridge, chattering at Barry for him to throw them a few rats. Nell stiffened as she watched the raptors fight over the rats, Blue snapping at all of them so that she could have the largest amount.

There was something rolling around the pit of her stomach that told her that today, of all days, was not a good day for Owen to be away. She tried to shake it off as strictly her nerves from being around the raptors.

"Here, you do one." Barry said gently, noticing her nervousness. She nodded slowly, taking the rat.

"Blue," She said softly before clearing her throat. "Blue." She stated a little louder this time. The beta looked up, chattering at her. "This one's for you, okay?" the raptor chirped in reply and she tossed it down to her.

Blue caught the rat with ease, but suddenly Echo leaped on her, trying to steal the rat.

"Oh, _shit_." Nell hissed, as Blue threw Echo off of her. The two raptors began circling each other, hissing and snapping their jaws. "Barry, call Owen." She said, and he nodded, running to get his phone.

Charlie and Delta stood to the side of the two raptors, looking nervously as to what was happening.

So far, it didn't seem too dangerous. They kept going around in their circle. They looked almost like bigger, more danger cats. Blue hissed at Echo one last time in warning: _**stand down**_. But Echo didn't listen. Her back legs tensed and she sprang at Blue with the intent to harm.

But she never got there.

"CHARLIE!" Nell screamed as the smallest of the raptors leaped in between the two battling raptors. Echo's outstretched claws, meant for Blue, sliced through Charlie's side. The small raptor fell, a large gash crossing her from her shoulder to her hind leg. "Shit." Nell whispered. She looked around for Barry, but couldn't see him. Her heart pounding with adrenaline, she clambered down the steps of the bridge. Her feet hitting the ground, she ran over to the gate, heart leaping to her throat as her hand hovered over the button to open it.

She could hear some of the guardsmen clambering into position to stun the raptors.

"DO NOT SHOOT." She said, "I repeat, DO NOT SHOOT."

Blue, after seeing her littlest pack member harmed, was _pissed_. She screeched at Echo, and you didn't need to study animal behavior to know what it meant: _**I am the beta. Not you.**_ Her claws swiped at Echo's face, sending the raptor tumbling. A sickening _crack_ was heard from her jaw, and Nell was certain it was broken.

She hit the buzzer to let herself in, chest heaving as she tried to breathe. Blue's face snapped to her, and she hissed again, a warning: _**Stay back bitch**_.

"It's okay." Nell said softly, holding both hands down and crouching to show her submission to Blue. "I just want to help Charlie." She said, pointing to the harmed raptor, who was now whimpering on the dirt of the pen.

Blue stared at her unblinkingly for what felt like hours, but was most likely seconds. Nell could feel her chest constrict as her panic set in at what she had done.

"JESUS NELL!" Barry shouted, and Blue jerked forward at his voice.

"Close the gate." Nell said quickly, leaning back from Blue as the raptor got ever closer. "Close it."

She heard the buzz of the gate going down part way. "All the way Barry. These girls can't be free on the island."

"But-"

" _Now_." She said through her teeth. She craned her exposed neck to Blue slowly, showing the raptor that once again, she was at her mercy. "I just want to help Charlie." She repeated herself gently, turning her outstretched palm out to the raptor.

Delta scampered closer to Nell, only for Blue to snap harmlessly at her to back off. The beta turned her head slowly back to Nell, and huffed out her nose in a pleased snort. Nell moved slowly over to the smallest raptor, getting on her knees when she reached her. She could feel Blue's eyes on her, and she gulped, knowing that if she made one wrong move she was dead.

"Hi baby." She whispered to Charlie, who whimpered in response. "You were so, so brave standing up for your beta like that. I'm sure she and Owen are so proud of you." Gently, she placed a hand on Charlie's neck, and the raptor's whimpers quieted slightly. She took off her over shirt, and tried to wipe up her wound, the blood staining the cream material. "It's okay Charlie," she whispered soothingly. "We'll get you fixed up." She looked up to Barry. "Call the vets. I don't think we can transport both of them." He nodded and made another call.

Nell looked up to Blue, who was watching her carefully. "Can I check out Echo?" She asked softly, pointing to the other raptor and getting up slightly. Blue snapped at her, and she sat back down where she was. "So that's a no." She chuckled humorlessly, the beta obviously pissed at Echo's actions.

"NELL." She heard Owen's clear rich tenor as he ran to the gate, a slower but still fast moving Claire and Simon Masrani following him.

"Don't. Yell." She stated clearly, her eyes catching his as he gripped the gate. "Blue is allowing me to look at Charlie but not Echo. I think Echo has a broken jaw and a wound. Can you look?"

Owen's eyes moved fast as he appraised the scene. Blue was watchful but calm as she kept an eye on the doctor. If she didn't make any sudden movements she wouldn't be attacked. Delta stood back, waiting for Blue's command but obviously less trustful of the woman than Blue was. Charlie was crumpled on the ground, a bloody wound slicing through her side and Owen winced at the appearance. Echo was off to the side, head up but not moving, her eyes trained on Blue. A fresh scratch crossed her eye and her lower jaw was slightly off.

And Nell.

Dear God, this had to be the sexiest Owen had ever seen her. She was in only a thin white undershirt as she used her top to clean Charlie's wound, and it clung to her as a thin sheen of sweat covered her body. Her brown hair had fallen out of its usual braid, wisps clinging to her face and mouth as she whispered to the youngest of the raptors.

"You were so brave, honey." He heard her say and his heart melted. She was so beautiful. He hit the button to let him into the pen, despite the protests of Barry and Claire.

"Shut up and let me think!" He said sharply, locking eyes with Mr. Masrani, who shrugged as if to say "it's your move".

He crouched under the half open gate. Blue and Delta swerved to him sharply, but calmed when they saw it was their alpha. He could fix this. He grabbed his clicker, holding it in his left hand.

"Blue." He said sharply. "I'm going to look at Echo, okay?" The beta hissed as she heard him say her least favorite pack member's name. "No, don't give me that shit. I'm going to check her out and you're going to let me." He said, aware of Nell's dark eyes on him. "Stand down." He clicked at her and she huffed but stood down. He went quickly over to Echo, never turning his back on Blue and Delta.

"What the hell did you do?" He muttered to Echo as he looked at her closer. "Finally realize you're not cut out to be beta, huh?" She chortled sadly, almost as if she were hanging her head in shame. "It's okay girl. Just don't do it again." He said sharply. "Now this is gonna hurt but I gotta do it. So don't get mad at me, okay?" He looked at the raptor, one of her eyes glazed over from blood but the other looking at him with implicit trust.

He grabbed both halves of her jaw and felt gently along the lower half. Yup, it was broken. Grimacing, he gripped the halves firmly again and pushed, hearing it pop back into place. He pulled his hands back quickly and leaped away as Echo cried out, snapping her jaws from the pain.

"Whoa, calm down Echo. Thatta girl." He said gently and she settled back down, realizing that she was in less pain than before. He stroked her head gently to let her know that he still loved her. "Just don't do it again, okay girl?" He repeated himself.

He looked up over at Barry. "Where the hell are the vets?" He shouted.

"Owen." Nell said and his eyes snapped to her. "Yelling is just going to aggravate them." He nodded, knowing she was right.

And they waited.

It took another thirty minutes before the veterinary team reached them. By then they had gotten Blue and Delta into their new holders, metal muzzles that held the raptor's jaws shut in a pen. Nell had gotten a lot of Charlie's bleeding to stop, and they commended her on it before gently loading the raptor up to take her to the hospital. Both raptors were administered tranquilizers, and Echo was also loaded up so that her eye could be cleaned and her jaw x-rayed.

Nell stood up shakily after they had left, her eyes meeting Owens. She knew he had been staring at her most of the time. She let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding as she watched them leave.

"Do you want some water?" Owen said gently, and she laughed nervously.

"I need a beer." He laughed, his big, belly shaking laugh and lead her to his office. It was a small aluminum hut right outside the raptor pen that held two desks, a mini fridge, and a giant fan. He grabbed two beers from the mini fridge, handing one to Nell. She wedged the cap against one of the desks and gave it a good smack, the cap popping off easily.

He raised his eyebrows. "Nice trick."

She laughed, taking a long pull from the beer. His mouth dried as he realized she wasn't wearing a bra, the soft swell of her breasts pushing up against the thin tank material. "You have to have a way to open a beer in the middle of nowhere." Nell said, the corner of her mouth quirking up as she saw Owen checking her out.

Maybe she wasn't so rusty after all.

"Look, I really gotta thank you for what you did for Charlie." Owen said huskily, leaning back and sitting on his desk. He took a pull from his beer, keeping his eyes on her. "I don't know what Barry would've done without you."

"No problem." She replied, mimicking his actions on Barry's desk. "You've raised a good set of girls. In some way I'm glad Echo's finally been put in her place. She won't be fighting with Blue anymore."

He looked at her again. _Really_ looked at her. And he liked what he saw, same as the first day they met. A woman who was proud of her work and loved what she did but could let her hair down and knock back a few shots of tequila when she wanted to.

He chuckled. "Y'know, when you're stressed, your accent comes out." He mimicked her Texan twang and she scoffed.

"What can I say. You can take the girl outta the country but you can't take the country out of the girl." Her voice took on more of her flirty "Southern Belle" twang, an accent that had once been overwhelmingly strong in her voice but had calmed down since she left Texas.

His eyebrows shot up again, and a small grin appeared on his face when he realized she was flirting back.

"You two did so well today." Mr. Masrani strolled in, Claire hot on his heels. "You've proved me right hiring you Nell." He said, shaking her hand strongly. Nell paused, startled by the sudden intrusion.

"Thanks, Mr. Masrani."

"Simon, of course. And Owen, please take your time with getting the velociraptors ready. I've seen today that they need a little more… time." He said warily, shaking the hand of the larger man.

Owen nodded stiffly. Masrani left, but Claire strolled up to Owen, one hand on her hip and the other on her cell phone. She was dressed impeccably again, Nell noted, a dark green skirt suit that fit her perfectly. And she sat covered in dirt and dino blood.

"Mr. Masrani may have given you leeway, but we do expect them to be ready eventually. This project can't just hemorrhage money. And please, for god sake's. File the paperwork on this incident." She said quickly, before turning on her heel and clipping out of the office.

And in ten seconds Nell went from feeling like she had never lost her groove to realizing that she never had it. She watched Claire clip away and took a large gulp of her beer, standing up to go.

"I should go." She said hurriedly. Owen stood as well, worried that he'd done something wrong.

"At least finish your beer." He said, but Nell couldn't. Her chest constricted and she felt like a cornered dog, willing to find any way to get out of the situation she was in. Her head screamed at her that she wasn't good enough for Owen, that anything they did would just be a disaster, and a million more things that she couldn't comprehend.

"I have to drive."

He snorted. "Please, Squirt. I know you can handle a beer."

She bristled. How dare he call her that when he was with Claire.

"Well maybe I just want to go." She sniped, her voice coming out nastier than she expected. Cutting all ties would be the fastest way to get out of the situation, her brain said logically. Her fight or flight instincts were kicking in and all she wanted to do was flee.

Owen looked taken aback. "What?"

Nell rolled her eyes, even though somewhere inside of her was yelling at her to not be so poorly behaved.

"If you wanted a drink why not just ask Claire?" She asked snottily.

"You shouldn't have to feel like you're in competition with her." Owen chuckled.

Nell scoffed. "How can I not? She looks like a model and I can't even be bothered to put a goddamn bra on in the morning." She shook her head, looking away from him. "I've never felt bad about where I came from or how I look and dress, yet all of a sudden she makes me feel bad. And I hate that. I'm never going to be like her or look like her and I _hate_ that."

He paused for a moment before looking at her. She had to look away. "Is that what this is about? You're jealous of _Claire_? You shouldn't compare yourself to her. You're two totally different people. Nell, she's great and all but she's not really my type."

She spun around, cocking a hip and fixing him with a cold stare. "Did you sleep with her?" She said sharply. His silence was all the answer she needed. "Thought so." She whispered, something inside of her hurting at that realization.

She placed the beer on the desk before making to leave.

"You know, I don't get you." Usually, when Owen spoke, it was loud and boisterous and passionate. This time around it was cool and cutting, a response to her own nastiness. "One second we're flirting, everything is grooving and going well and in all of half a second you're shutting me out again. Suddenly I'm pissed and I don't even know why. You're so goddamn confusing." He articulated this by placing the beer on the table harder than he had expected. " _You're_ the one who turned me down. _You're_ the one who said you didn't want to date me. It's all been you, you, you. So you don't get to be mad if I go on a date with another girl. You don't get that right. You turned me down."

He punctuated every "you" with a small movement closer to her. The more he spoke the more heated his voice became. Nell was suddenly aware of how small the office was, and how close the two of them were.

"Maybe I've regretted that decision since the first damn time it came out of my mouth." She said sadly, not realizing what she had said until it was too late to take it back. Owen's eyes widened at her confession and he took a step closer to her.

Suddenly it became harder to breathe. She was almost pinned to the desk, the metal digging into her back as she looked up at Owen's large frame. His stormy eyes stared her down and she almost felt faint. His hands were on the desk behind her now, effectively surrounding her and yet this time, she didn't feel trapped.

"Can I… Can I kiss you?" He said softly, his eyes searching her face for God knows what.

"Yes." Nell breathed, her heart beating a mile a minute in her chest. His left hand trailed slowly up her arm and she shivered, suddenly cold in the island's heat. His hand cupped her cheek, brushing away a few pieces of her hair with his thumb. She tilted her face up to look at his and then, blissfully, they were kissing.

He was warm and gentle, smelling like the earth and sweat and dear Lord did she like that. Her hands skimmed up his chest, lying there as he moved her back to sitting on the desk.

Their kiss intensified as he moved in between her legs, something, anything so that they could be closer. His lips were perfect, knowing exactly what they were doing as he kissed her in a way that hadn't happened to her for a very long time. She could feel warmth in her lower belly, that familiar feeling that had so quickly returned to her.

Her hands moved up to cup his face and he smiled into their kiss, snaking his right hand behind her back and pulling them closer together. She gasped happily as their bodies molded together perfectly, and when he broke away, seeing her eyes glazed over and lips pouty from being properly kissed was all the reward he needed.

"Wow." She whispered, before immediately turning red at her breathy exclamation. Owen laughed, pressing his forehead to hers and pecking her sweetly on the lips.

"Yeah." He chuckled. "Wow."

x

Nell walked into her office not an hour later after retrieving a new shirt and feeding Tuck, still walking on clouds from her kiss with Owen. That's all it had been, a kiss, but if one kiss was enough to send her flying, well… she was in trouble, and she didn't give a damn.

She was immediately startled out of her daydream when she saw Winnie Price sitting at her desk.

"Winnie?" She said sharply, and the dark haired woman jolted. "What the hell are you doing?"


End file.
